Dyson Diversifies Into Robotics And Software; Plans To Hire 2000 More Workers

The technological giant, Dyson, famous for the production of domestic and consumer gadgets like vacuum cleaners, air purifiers and hair styling products, has embarked upon a new venture to produce a novel line of products.

The company has recently released cutting-edge devices like the 360 Vis Nav robot vacuum, which boasts of “intelligent” capabilities, all of which require some extensive software development. To support these advancements, Dyson has significantly increased its hiring efforts. They plan to recruit an additional 2,000 engineers to amp up their global workforce, a plan which was made known by Kashyap Chandrasekar, Dyson’s director of upstream robotics. “Robotics and software are the largest pools of people we’re trying to hire,” he said.

“We’ve really seen a ten-fold increase in our engineers working in software over the last years,” Dyson’s Chief Technology Officer John Churchill said in an interview. “We’re hunting for the greatest talent, from graduates of colleges to experienced people, to join us to pivot Dyson into more of a software world.”

Another product of Dyson that has caught the eyes of investors and consumers is the Dyson Zone. Its futuristic look coupled with unique features that allow it to double as a purifier – make it appealing to users from various demographics.

While the Dyson Zone has been criticized for its $999.99 price tag and bulky appearance, Churchill has maintained a positive outlook on things.

“With new products, we have a high selling price because there’s so much investment in terms of that technology,” he said during an interview.

“The first generation of products is really the stepping stone, in terms of the journey, and the products are going to continue to evolve.”

When asked about public health and access, Churchill clarified that while the product was still evolving, the company was exploring ways to make it more affordable and accessible to people.

Since its inception in 1991, founder Sir James Dyson has been set on being a trailblazer in the area of new technology. Before branching off into European, Australian, Asian and American markets, the company set its roots in the United Kingdom.

Despite the company’s success today, Dyson was no stranger to the many pitfalls that plagued consumer technology companies in the first few years after inception. They faced headwinds like rising costs and chip shortages like many other consumer technology companies. However, the privately owned company reported £6.5 billion ($8.15 billion) in revenue for 2022, up from £6 billion the year before.

The company currently has a £2.75 billion investment plan divided across Singapore, the U.K. and the Philippines. The company already has research and development focused campuses in U.K., Malaysia and Shanghai — and is now investing £166 million in a new tech campus in Batangas, Philippines.

A key part of Dyson’s global investment scheme is the 247,000-square-feet battery plant in Singapore. The company has estimated it will be up and running by 2025.

“Our new battery factory allows Dyson to have a much longer-term view because they’re supported by a very clear strategy from the government to allow us to make big investments, with the confidence that they’re going to be supported,” Churchill explained.

Dyson’s decision to build their battery plant in Singapore comes after the company relocated its global headquarters to the city-state from the U.K. The company was criticized for that 2019 decision, partly due to founder Sir James Dyson’s vocal support for Brexit.

Out of 14,000 employees globally, 1,400 are based in Singapore, including 600 engineers.

“If we’re going to have a manufacturing footprint in this part of the world, you need engineers to be closely located,” Chandrasekar said. “It does help that there’s a fair amount of government push as well in the field of robotics. There’s plenty of initiatives. There’s a lot of capable research groups. All this lends itself well to build a talent pool that can support this.”

Despite its British roots, Dyson prides itself in being a global consumer technology brand, rather than a purely British brand. The goal of this, Churchill stressed, would be to cater to a wider range of audiences, and introduce more generations of products into the global technology market.

“We want to really understand some of those cultures and diversities that will inspire us to create new ideas, to solve problems that are relevant to people in different countries.