IDA Ireland has welcomed the announcement that Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, will establish a Research and Development facility in Cork City.

The multimillion-euro four-year investment is expected to create hundreds of highly skilled engineering roles. The project, which is supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland significantly enhances the reputation of the Irish semiconductor industry, adding to Ireland’s strong reputation in microelectronics R&D.

Ajay Bawale, VP, Engineering, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. said: “We are excited about the new workplace in Penrose Dock. Not only are the offices state of the art, but they also have specially purposed and designed labs to enable continued ground-breaking security and validation work.”

Paul Kelleher, Sr. Director, Engineering for QT Technologies Ireland Limited and the site lead for the new facilities in Cork added: “This city centre location will help us to attract the world-class engineering talent needed to fuel our continued success.”

CEO of IDA Ireland, Martin Shanahan said: “Qualcomm’s new Research & Development Centre in Cork will operate on the cutting edge of technological innovation in Ireland. It is a terrific project for Cork and the South West region, and demonstrates IDA Ireland’s proven record of winning investments for regional locations. This investment also significantly enhances the reputation of the Irish semiconductor industry, adding to Ireland’s strong standing in microelectronics R&D.  I wish Qualcomm every success with today’s announcement and assure them of our continued support.”

Qualcomm Technologies’ local affiliate moved into the new 4,600 m2 facility at Penrose Dock in Cork City Centre in October and is recruiting for roles in the ASIC areas of Digital, Analog, Machine Learning, Automotive, CAD, Automation, System Validation, Advanced Design for new Technologies and Software Engineering using leading-edge technologies to work on the next generation of ASIC Chips.

Commenting on the announcement, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar said: “This is really welcome news for Cork. Ireland is known for being one of the leading Research, Development and Innovation locations in the world and today’s announcement is further evidence of our strength in this area. This announcement from Qualcomm to invest €78m to establish a new Research and Development centre in Cork, is expected to create hundreds of highly-skilled roles over the next four years. Our skilled and talented workforce allows companies like Qualcomm to embed and grow their operations here. I wish them every success with their expansion plans.”