Uber has announced plans to open an engineering hub in Toronto. The new site will mark its 11th engineering hub worldwide and the first in Canada. This is one, of what Uber said is a five-year $200 million investment aimed to help grow Toronto’s tech ecosystem.
“Uber is creating hundreds of local jobs with a mandate to attract international talent to the local tech economy.”
Uber is looking to accommodate more than 200 staff in the new building, with the goal of eventually expanding that to more than 400 employees. The company said the engineering hub will feature 468 desks, 60 conference rooms, 13 phone booths, two exterior terraces, and a library. The facility is slated to occupy the top five floors of 121 Bloor Street East, near the intersection of Church Street.
“Uber is creating hundreds of local jobs with a mandate to attract international talent to the local tech economy and offer new opportunities for Canadian graduates to find employment at home,” the company said in a statement. “Uber will also be offering opportunities for current Uber engineers to relocate to Toronto, including bringing home Canadian expats and introducing the city to talent from elsewhere in the world.”
The Toronto engineering hub will focus its efforts on Uber’s grocery delivery platform, playing a pivotal role in developing Uber Grocery’s business, product, and go-to-market strategy. The Toronto team will also develop web-based tools that offer insights into Uber’s business. The facility will also work with artificial intelligence and Big Data to create tools that Uber said will help the company make smart investment decisions, whether those be in new technologies, acquisitions, or other business opportunities.
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Uber’s ridesharing division has made several moves in Canada recently, launching services in Saskatchewan’s largest cities, Regina and Saskatoon for the first time. The ridesharing company is also piloting a new safety feature to its ridesharing app called Bike Lane Alerts in Toronto. The new feature would notify riders through a push notification that their upcoming drop-off is near a bike lane or shared road, reminding them to look out for people on bikes and scooters.
According to the Toronto Star, Uber will be leaving its three Toronto offices in order to move those employees to its new facility.
Image courtesy Uber.