Apple announces app development accelerator in Bangalore, India

After a visit to China earlier in the week, Apple CEO Tim Cook's next stop is India, an increasingly important market for the company. Apple has just announced a iOS design and development accelerator to open in Bangalore (officially known as Bengaluru), considered the main hub of the country's startup scene with over one million people working in the local tech sector. The center will provide support to local app developers and help improve their iOS software, providing one-on-one app reviews.

"India is home to one of the most vibrant and entrepreneurial iOS development communities in the world," Cook says in a statement. "With the opening of this new facility in Bengaluru, we're giving developers access to tools which will help them create innovative apps for customers around the world." The accelerator is set to open early next year.

This is Cook's first trip to India, according to Bloomberg, and he may have additional business in the country; Apple will reportedly also unveil a development center for its mapping services in Hyderabad. Earlier this year the company announced that it had invested $25 million in a Hyderabad facility for 4,500 employees.

• SourceApple Bloomberg