Intuit to invest $45 million in India

Mumbai: Intuit, the US-based provider of business and personal finance management software, has plans to make products for the Indian market.

The Nasdaq-listed company has committed an investment of $45 million in India this year, as it readies to develop and deploy financial management products for small and medium businesses here.

Established in 1983, the $3.1-billion company develops financial management products for small and mid-sized businesses, financial institutions, consumers and accounting professionals. Its flagship products and services include QuickBooks, Quicken and TurboTax software.

The company’s India division will create software products that could be accessed both over the Web and on mobile phones.

Intuit has appointed Mr Umang Bedi as the Managing Director for India; Ms Lindsey Agalas, has been appointed as the Vice-President of new market development for emerging markets.

In India, the company is targeting businesses that employ 10-15 persons. Of the 250 million such businesses that exist in Asia, half of it is in India.

Going forward, Intuit expects to continue investing at least $45 million in its India operations every year. The company will use the investments to finance its product development and infrastructure needs.

Intuit has a research and development centre in Bangalore, which has been developing software products for the company’s global operations for the past four years.

The company intends to more than double its headcount at its R&D hub in Bangalore to 600 persons in two years against 250 currently, said Mr Bedi.

Intuit is targeting the launch of its first software product for the Indian market by the year-end.