As India emerges as a global hub for electronics design, manufacturing and advanced technology development, companies that can bridge innovation with execution are becoming increasingly critical to the ecosystem. Among them is Avnet, a century-old global technology solutions provider that has steadily strengthened its presence in India over the last two decades.
Founded in 1921 and headquartered in Phoenix, Avnet operates across 140 countries, employing about 15,000 people through a network of more than 250 locations worldwide. The company specialises in helping customers move seamlessly from product design to delivery, by combining technical expertise, engineering support, electronics distribution, embedded and compute solutions, as well as sophisticated supply chain management capabilities. The company’s integrated approach enables customers to reduce development cycles, mitigate supply chain risks and accelerate innovation-led growth.
India has become an increasingly important market within Avnet’s broader Asia-Pacific growth strategy. Present in the country since August 1998, the company has built a strong operational footprint across key technology and industrial centres, such as Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, New Delhi and Pune. Through these locations, Avnet provides customers with a combination of local responsiveness and access to its global network of expertise, technology resources and supply chain capabilities.
“India is becoming an important technology and manufacturing market, with Avnet well-positioned to help customers navigate that shift,” says Suresh Kamath, MD, Avnet India. “The opportunity is not only about market size, but about enabling the ecosystem that sits behind it – engineering, integration, sourcing and supply chain execution.”
The company’s value proposition lies in helping customers transform technical ideas into commercially viable products. Avnet works with a broad range of customers, including original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), Tier I suppliers, contract manufacturers and engineering teams that require both technical support and dependable supply chain solutions. Its customer base spans diverse sectors such as automotive, industrial automation, communications, aerospace and defence, healthcare electronics and emerging technology domains.
Several of these sectors are undergoing rapid transformation today, driven by digitalisation, electrification and automation. And, some of the strongest growth opportunities are emerging in electric mobility, industrial automation, edge artificial intelligence and connected systems – areas where product complexity is increasing and where engineering and supply chain excellence become critical differentiators, says Kamath.
AI-adoption
Artificial intelligence, in particular, is reshaping product development across industries. While AI adoption in India initially revolved around experimentation and pilot projects, the market is now transitioning toward broader deployment and commercial implementation. “If you look at where we are today, AI in India has clearly moved beyond the early experimentation phase,” notes Kamath. “What we are seeing now is a steady shift towards real deployment and integration into products and business processes.”
Avnet is playing an important role in enabling this transition. The company supports customers across hardware, software and system integration layers, helping them bring AI-enabled products and solutions to market. Much of this activity is occurring at the edge, particularly in manufacturing, industrial automation, and embedded systems, where real-time decision-making, reliability and operational efficiency are paramount.
“Our role is to help bridge the gap between concept and execution,” says Kamath. “What we focus on is helping organisations translate AI into something that works consistently in real-world conditions – not just something that works in a controlled environment.”
Looking ahead, Avnet sees India becoming increasingly central to the global technology and electronics landscape. The country’s growing manufacturing ambitions, deep engineering talent pool, and expanding role in global supply chain diversification are creating significant opportunities for technology companies and their customers alike. To capitalise on these opportunities, Avnet plans to continue investing in local technical capabilities, customer engagement and supply chain resilience. The company aims to deepen collaboration with customers and ecosystem partners, while supporting the next phase of technology adoption across industries.
As global supply chains evolve and electronics become more sophisticated, the ability to connect innovation with scalable execution will become even more valuable. With more than 25 years of presence in India and the backing of a global technology network, Avnet is positioning itself as a key enabler of India’s ambitions to become a major force in the global electronics and technology ecosystem.