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Apple investing 1 billion euro for silicon design center in Munich, Germany

A rendering of Apple's new design center, expected to open to employees in 2022

Apple has announced that it will hire hundreds of employees for a billion-euro chip design facility in Munich, Germany focused on wireless technologies and networking.

In an announcement, Apple says that the new center will be Apple's largest R&D site for mobile wireless semiconductors and software. The 30,000 square-foot facility will focus on "5G and future technologies"

"I couldn't be more excited for everything our Munich engineering teams will discover — from exploring the new frontiers of 5G technology, to a new generation of technologies that bring power, speed, and connectivity to the world," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "Munich has been a home to Apple for four decades, and we're grateful to this community and to Germany for being a part of our journey."

Apple says that the facility will be Europe's largest research and development site for wireless semiconductors and software.

Across Germany, Apple now has over 4,000 team members in a range of roles, including retail, engineering, and operations. This head-count spans its Apple Store locations, administrative positions, the Bavarian design center, the Nabern research center, and its application processor team that is already working in Munich.

Like all of the company's offices globally, it will run entirely on 100 percent renewable energy. Apple plans to start moving into the new building in late 2022.



24 Comments

ionicle 4 Years · 98 comments

Would have made more sense to open this in the UK

dewme 10 Years · 5775 comments

I would imagine Apple wants to leverage this location’s proximity to the leading technical university in Germany. Or the beer. Cold beer. Probably one of those.

crowley 15 Years · 10431 comments

ionicle said:
Would have made more sense to open this in the UK

Why?  The UK doesn't have any particular advantage in wireless or networking does it?

Rayz2016 8 Years · 6957 comments

ionicle said:
Would have made more sense to open this in the UK

They probably wanted the largest pool of technical talent without having to deal with Brexit issues. 

seanj 16 Years · 322 comments

crowley said:
ionicle said:
Would have made more sense to open this in the UK
Why?  The UK doesn't have any particular advantage in wireless or networking does it?

A lot of Qualcom’s wireless technology comes from its acquisition of Cambridge Silicon Radio which is still based in Cambridge.

The world’s most densely packed mobile radio network exist within Ocado’s robot-staffed warehouses. A proprietary technology licensed to other retailers around the world, such as Walmart in the USA. Developed by another Cambridge based technology company.

Should I continue?

BTW - guess which city ARM is based, it begins with a “C”...