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Company type | Private |
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Industry | |
Founded | March 2009 |
Founder |
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Headquarters | , |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people |
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Products | |
Services | Electronics manufacturing services |
Revenue | ![]() |
Number of employees | 10,000+ |
Parent | Jaina Group and UTL Group |
Subsidiaries | Gionee |
Website | www |
Karbonn (known as Karbonn Mobiles) is an Indian multinational technology company, that manufactures feature phones, smartphones, tablets and mobile phone accessories. [2] The company was founded in March 2009, headquartered in Delhi, India. Karbonn is a joint venture between United Telelinks Ltd., a Bangalore-based firm and Jaina Marketing Pvt. Ltd., headquartered in New Delhi. [2]
Karbonn Mobiles also has tie ups with leading telecom players like Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Jio. [2] Karbonn operates in countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Yemen, United Kingdom and parts of Europe. [3]
The company struck a deal with Eros International, the makers of the Rajinikanth-starrer film Kochadaiyaan (2013). The deal involved the manufacture of five lakh (500,000) items of Kochadaiyaan merchandise with screen savers and images from the film, the trailer, behind-the-scenes shots, the signature tune of the film, and the lead actor's signature on the back cover of phones. [4]
Karbonn ties with online digital entertainment service provider Hungama.com and has an app preinstalled. [5]
In October 2012, Karbonn announced the launch of their brand extension 'Karbonn Smart'. The range included a smart tab and smartphones based on the Android operating system. [6] In February 2014, Microsoft announced Karbonn as a hardware partner of the Windows Phone operating system. [7]
Karbonn Sparkle V is one of the initial Android One phones manufactured by Karbonn Mobiles in cooperation with Google Inc. [8]
Karbonn was ranked the 77th most trusted brand in India among 1,200, by The Brand Trust Report 2014, a study conducted by brand analytics company Trust Research Advisory. [9] In the 2017 edition of the report, it stands at the 350th position among 1,000 Indian companies surveyed. [10]
Karbonn is the first Android One phone to be sold in Europe : Karbonn Sparkle V2.[ citation needed ] The company entered the UK market through Amazon.co.uk
In 2019, Gionee's Indian subsidiary was acquired by the promoters of Karbonn. [11] In 2020 they announced Gionee Mobile as a sub-brand of Karbonn.[ citation needed ]
In March 2022, Karbonn announced that it would undergo liquidation as the company has been facing a severe revenue decline due to the pandemic.[ citation needed ]
The firm's total investment in the Indian consumer market was over US$5 million in the year 2011. The firm contracted with semiconductor companies for their handsets and mainly targeted the Indian market. The firm has over 85,000 retailers and 1000+ service centers (150+ dedicated exclusively for Karbonn) across India. Karbonn Mobiles aims at registering a turnover of ₹4,000 crore during the 2013-14 financial year. [5]