As Honor India stumbles, Madhav Sheth shifts focus to Alcatel smartphones

HTech co-founder Madhav Sheth.

Amid mounting challenges at his earlier venture HTech, marked by stalled operations, employee exits and a lack of support from Honor's global team, Madhav Sheth has joined Nxtcell as a shareholder and director to lead the launch of Alcatel smartphones in India.

Sheth co-founded HTech in 2023 to reintroduce Honor smartphones in India following his departure from Realme.

He told Moneycontrol he would continue his role at HTech while simultaneously working with Nxtcell.

"I will be working closely with the Nxtcell team to spearhead technology transfer, foster patent-driven innovation, and ensure that local manufacturing aligns with India's vision for tech self-reliance," Sheth said. “We have successfully signed technology agreements, and our local manufacturing initiatives are poised to boost India's tech ecosystem and enhance exports significantly.”

Nxtcell India licenses the Alcatel brand from TCL Communication, which is owned by Nokia. Sheth said his other venture, HTech, will not be involved in the Alcatel smartphone launch in India.

His association with Nxtcell comes as HTech faces challenges in reviving the Honor brand. The company has struggled to make an impact in the market, with operations stuck over the past six months, leading to mass layoffs and a lack of new launches.

Many former Realme employees who had moved to HTech have since exited the company, sources said.

"We have right-sized our team structure to optimise our business requirement and strategy for the next two years," an HTech spokesperson said.

Positions vacated have been filled in alignment with the company’s current business model, the spokesperson said.

"Like most start-ups, HTech had also initiated a performance-based workforce restructuring initiative to aim for better resource utilisation supporting the new business strategy. It was essential to streamline processes making the company more agile and efficient that aligns with our evolving business goals," the spokesperson added.

Honor’s return to India was facilitated through a distribution deal with HTech rather than a direct re0entry. Since then, HTech has launched only a few Honor smartphones, which have failed to gain traction.

The HTech spokesperson said the company is awaiting BIS certification for the X-Series and Magic Series, while the Number Series is expected to launch in the second half of this year.

Digital marketing agency Adglobal360 has reportedly dragged the company to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) over unpaid dues of more than Rs 2.65 crore. HonorTech has disputed the claim.