Hyderabad, May 18 : Medtronic plc, the global leader in healthcare technology, has announced an investment of more than $350 million to expand the Medtronic Engineering & Innovation Center (MEIC) in Hyderabad. With this fresh investment, Medtronic's cumulative investment in Hyderabad becomes about half a billion USD, said state's industry minister K. T. Rama Rao on Thursday. The fresh investment was announced when the minister met the company's leadership team in New York. Minister KTR tweeted that there is no better testament to the pro-business policies of Telangana government than repeat investments. He stated that this further strengthens Telangana's position as a global hub for medical devices research and innovation. MEIC is Medtronic's largest research and development centre outside of the US. The investment is a part of Medtronic's overall global R&D led innovation and growth strategy. In a joint statement, Medtronic said it supports the government of Telangana's efforts to position Hyderabad as a global hub for healthcare technology research and innovation. Medtronic leaders Mike Marinaro, Executive Vice President & President, Surgical, Mani Prakash, Vice President, Enterprise R&D, and Divya Prakash Joshi, Vice President & MEIC Site Leader, met KTR. This investment builds on the initial investment of $160M in MEIC that was announced in 2020 and expands the company's footprint in India. MEIC currently employs over 800 people, primarily engineers, and is expected to grow to more than 1,500 over the next 5-year period. With this expansion, MEIC aims to leverage the sizable pool of diverse and skilled talent in India involving engineering, mobile apps, application and desktop software, cloud/web apps, data engineering, embedded software, product security, and cyber-product security. The investment will support key healthcare technology areas like robotics, imaging and navigation, surgical technologies, and implantable technologies. The minister on Wednesday night announced the grand entry of global media powerhouse Warner Bros. Discovery into the entertainment realm of Telangana. Hyderabad is set to witness the launch of their incredible IDC, a hub of creativity and innovation, with a whopping 1200 employees in the first year alone. This milestone marks a significant step towards their expansion plans, he said. The announcement was made after KTR me Alexandra Carter, Senior Vice President of Finance at Warner Bros. Discovery. Warner Bros. Discovery, a premier global media and entertainment company, offers audiences the world's most differentiated and complete portfolio of content, brands and franchises across television, film, streaming and gaming. Their impressive portfolio includes HBO, CNN, TLC, Discovery, Discovery Plus, WB, Eurosport, Animal Planet, Cartoon Network, Cinemax, HGTV, and Quest. /IANS