Hyderabad, Dec 3 (IANS): Betting big on the cut-throat Indian smartphone market, Chinese handset maker OnePlus on Monday announced it has was working to grow its recently-opened Hyderabad facility into its biggest R&D centre globally in three years.

The facility will not only play a critical role in development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) in OnePlus products but will also drive innovations that are centric and relevant to the company's Indian community, the company said in a statement.

"In three years, we plan to grow the new R&D centre in Hyderabad into our biggest globally. We plan to re-focus our R&D efforts on a large scale and drive innovations in India for the global product, especially on the software side with special emphasis on AL and ML," said Pete Lau, Founder and CEO, OnePlus.

The company said it would also leverage the ingenious talent from the city which is one of the biggest IT hubs in the country.

The R&D facility will play a crucial role as OnePlus charts its roadmap towards adopting the Indian market as its home ground.

"OnePlus is committed to achieving long-term growth in India, and with the commencement of operations at the new R&D centre, OnePlus seeks to integrate and delve deeper into the 'Make in India' strategy.

"In line with the growing user base, we are in the process of expanding offline presence in the region. In fact, local fans can soon expect access to their very own OnePlus Experience Store," the company said.