The world's biggest iPhone maker is going to start making ventilators

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Foxconn is Apple's biggest manufacturing partner.

• Foxconn, Apple's biggest manufacturing partner for the iPhone, is going to start building ventilators.
• The CEO of medical tech firm Medtronic told CNBC on Monday that Foxconn has partnered with Medtronic to start making ventilators "within the next four to six weeks" at its factory in Wisconsin.
• Earlier this year Foxconn also diverted some of its Chinese production line to make medical masks.
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The world's biggest iPhone maker Foxconn is joining companies like Ford, GM, and Tesla in switching some of its manufacturing lines to make ventilators.

Omar Ishrak, CEO of medical tech company Medtronic, told CNBC on Monday that it has struck up a deal with Foxconn after the iPhone-maker adopted an open-source design Medtronic released due to 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, amongst them is Foxconn," said Ishrak.

He said that Foxconn has a factory in Wisconsin where Medtronic plans to manufacture ventilators "within the next four to six weeks."

This isn't 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 the majority 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.

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