Zoom to set up a new R&D center in Singapore, hire hundreds
Zoom Video Communications Inc, the video conferencing service provider, said on Wednesday it would expand its presence in Singapore by opening a research and development center, where it would hire hundreds of engineering employees.
Zoom said in a statement that also doubled the capacity of its data center in the country. The San Jose, Calif., Company opened the Singapore data center in August, its first in Southeast Asia.
The company has seen an increase in users of its video conferencing service this year, with millions of workers and students using its video platform as they work and study from home due to lockdowns caused by coronavirus.
We plan to hire employees immediately, leveraging Singapore’s pool of highly skilled engineering talent. Our new R&D and data center will play a critical role in Zoom’s continued international growth, said Velchamy Sankarlingam, president of products and engineering for Zoom.
Armed with lucrative grants and incentives, Singapore has stepped up efforts in recent years to attract technology companies and investors, including global players such as Facebook, Alphabet’s Google, and Chinese tech giants Tencent and Alibaba.
Singapore last month announced a new work visa for foreign heads of tech companies, an industry the low-tax global trading center hopes to fuel future economic growth.
Zoom has previously said its recruitment plans for Singapore will include engineers and sales staff.
As the share price climbed sharply in 2020, Zoom warned last month that its margins will remain under pressure through 2021, as its high number of free users made it difficult to offset a spike in costs for maintain its growth.
