The world's biggest iPhone maker, Foxconn, has plans to join companies like Ford, GM, and Tesla in switching some of its manufacturing lines to make ventilators.
Omar Ishrak, the CEO of the medical tech company Medtronic, told CNBC on Monday that his company had struck a deal with Foxconn after the iPhone maker adopted an open-source design Medtronic released amid the coronavirus pandemic.
"That has had tremendous response — we've had over 70,000 downloads and there have been some major players who've been engaged," Ishrak said. "Amongst them is Foxconn."
He said Medtronic planned to manufacture ventilators at Foxconn's factory in Wisconsin "within the next four to six weeks."
This wouldn't be the first time Foxconn has switched up its production lines to make equipment for fighting the spread of the coronavirus; in February, the Taiwanese company adapted one of its Chinese factories to produce medical masks.
Foxconn builds most of the world's iPhones, with one massive facility in Zhengzhou, China (also known as "iPhone City") producing over 50% of global supply.
Foxconn was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Business Insider but confirmed the partnership in a statement to Reuters.
