Meta announces new tech hub in Toronto

Meta has announced a major new investment in the Canadian tech industry, including plans to create a new 2,500-person engineering base in Toronto and the introduction of a new $500k grant program for Canadian academics to support new metaverse-aligned technology investigations.

On the new engineering hub, Meta is building a new purpose-built engineering lab focused on next-generation development. The new hub is expected to open 2,500 new jobs.

"This is expected to create up to 2,500 new jobs over the next several years, with recruiting already underway," stated Meta in a release.

"The majority of roles are engineering-focused and expected to span across building extended reality experiences and Meta technologies. We're also establishing the first Canadian WhatsApp, Messenger and Remote Presence engineering teams and growing our Canadian Reality Labs and AI Research teams. "

This investment in the Canadian tech industry follows Meta's announcement of a new 2,000-person 'Meta Lab' in Madrid, where it will investigate new methods for Europeans to communicate with one another in the next stage of digital connectedness. 

Furthermore, Meta is introducing a new funding program for Canadian researchers, with 17 projects receiving $30,000. 

The company is funding various projects, from user-adaptive and customized interactive systems to artificial intelligence and "hyper-connected virtual-physical objects," all of which are examining new, sophisticated techniques of digital connection and interaction that will be vital for the next stage. 

There is no information yet on where or when Meta plans to build its massive engineering hub in Toronto. 

SOURCE: SocialMediaToday