Infosys Ltd has recently inaugurated its Technology and Innovation Center in Arizona for which it plans to hire 1,000 locals by 2023. The Arizona Technology and Innovation Center, temporarily located at The Arizona State University (ASU) Scottsdale Innovation Center, has a special focus on autonomous technologies, Internet of Things (IoT), full-stack engineering, data science, and cybersecurity. Infosys’ investment in Arizona will help increase the top local talent to shrink the IT skills gap in the state.

Hiring is currently in progress at the center which will move to its permanent location, a 60,000-square-foot facility, in the ASU Novus Innovation Corridor by 2020, accommodating up to 500 employees.

Salil Parekh, Chief Executive Officer Infosys stated, “The inauguration of our Arizona Technology and Innovation Center is an important milestone in our efforts to help American enterprises accelerate their digital transformations. Today’s inauguration marks our sixth Center opening in the United States, allowing Infosys to seamlessly collaborate with our clients across the country in an agile manner.”

The center includes a series of living labs, showcasing new prototypes in virtual reality, augmented reality and robotic technologies, and serves as a space to foster co-creation, training, and collaboration. Through these living labs, the center will enable Infosys to develop cross-functional solutions to pressing business challenges in areas such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, user experience and advanced digital technologies, such as big data and cloud.

In addition, Infosys has also announced a partnership with InStride that will allow its employees to complete degree programs and continuing education courses through Arizona State University.

With this development, the IT major also announced that it has surpassed its Spring 2017 commitment to hire 10,000 American workers as part of its ongoing efforts to accelerate the pace of innovation for US enterprises. It is interesting to note that the company has achieved this target well ahead of 2020. The changes in the US visa process under Trump administration in the US has led to IT companies with offices in the US to reframe their hiring strategy. With this localization drive, Infosys will have once again shown its commitment to workforce development and resolving the STEM skills gap in the US.

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