ZEISS opens its first Innovation Hub outside Germany at Chennai’s IIT Madras Research Park

(from left) Miguel Gonzalez Diaz, MD, ZEISS India and Neighbouring Markets; Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Founder, IIT Madras Research Park; Andreas Pecher, President and Global CEO, ZEISS Group; Natarajan Malupillai' Group CEO, IITM Research Park and Incubation Cell; and Oshin Behl, Head, ZEISS Innovation Hub, Chennai at the launch of ZEISS Innovation Hub at IIT Madras Research Park on Thursday.

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​​ZEISS, a 180-year old global enterprise operating in the fields of optics and optoelectronics, on Thursday launched ZEISS Innovation Hub at IIT Madras Research Park (IITMRP), Chennai. The innovation centre is the company’s first such hub outside of Germany.​The new ZEISS Innovation Hub will strengthen collaboration between ZEISS’ global research network and the IIT Madras ecosystem, bringing together faculty, researchers, start-ups and industry to accelerate long-term research and technology translation.The centre will focus on areas including advanced frugal engineering, harsh-environment optics, robotics and fluid dynamics, while undertaking interdisciplinary research with real-world industrial applications. It will also promote more researcher exchanges, postgraduate research and closer engagement with IIT Madras students and graduates.Andreas Pecher, President and CEO of the ZEISS Group, said that as a Foundation-owned company, ZEISS has a long tradition of research, and invests 14 per cent of its revenue in R&D activities. Given the nature of early research undertaken by the company, he said that the exact products or focus areas of the centre could not be specified. We start with a small group of 4-5 researchers and there is potential to grow as the projects come in given India’s talent pipeline, he added.The Carl Zeiss Foundation fully owns the holding company behind ZEISS. In the previous fiscal year (as of September 2025), the ZEISS Group generated annual revenue totalling almost €12 billion in its four segments semiconductor manufacturing technology, industrial quality & research, medical technology and consumer markets.Answering media queries on synergies with India, Pecher said that as a semiconductor equipment maker, ZEISS is a supplier to companies that make chipsets, and also engages in discussions with various players in the Indian semicon ecosystem.ZEISS India is headquartered in Bengaluru and has around 2,500 employees in total in the country. It has three manufacturing facilities across Bengaluru & Delhi and one more factory is coming up in Devanahalli. It also has a global capability centre in Bengaluru.​Natarajan Malupillai, Group CEO, IITM Research Park & Incubation Cell said, “The establishment of the ZEISS Innovation Hub at IIT Madras Research Park is a significant milestone for both our institutions...By joining hands, we have an opportunity to combine these complementary strengths to accelerate frontier research, develop globally competitive technologies to create a distinct innovation advantage that benefits both industry and society.”Leadership teams from ZEISS and IIT-M Research Park including Andreas Pecher, President and CEO of the ZEISS Group, Dr. Max Riedel, Head of Innovation Management, Corporate Research & Technology (CRT), Miguel Gonzalez Diaz, Managing Director of ZEISS India, Dhaval Radia, Chief Financial Officer, ZEISS India, and Dr. Oshin Behl, Head, ZEISS Innovation Hub Chennai, and Natarajan Malupillai, Group CEO, IIT Madras Research Park, and Professor Ashok Jhujhunwala (Founder, Research Park), were all present at the inauguration.Published on September 3, 2026