Facebook has announced plans to double its employee count in Zurich to around 200. The social network also intends to strengthen business with corporate clients. Facebook in Zurich has so far largely focused on augmented and virtual reality.

Tino Krause, Country Director Facebook (Image credit: Handelszeitung).
Tino Krause, Country Director Facebook (Image credit: Handelszeitung). 

 

Switzerland is gaining in importance for Facebook. The time is right, says Tino Krause, head of German-speaking countries at Facebook, in an interview with "Handelszeitung". To date, the social network’s presence in Zurich has taken the shape of an office specialized in augmented and virtual reality, in part thanks to the proximity of the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH). “The field is gaining in importance, with the Zurich location driving innovation with Facebook’s Oculus products,” said Krause.    

In further news, Facebook is planning to strengthen its partnership with Swiss companies who could support the global use of social media. Rather than replacing the company’s internal teams or agencies, Facebook’s aim is rather to “accelerate innovation”, according to Krause.  

Krause also plans to open up his experiences in Switzerland and the other German-speaking countries to the whole Facebook group. “Germany and Switzerland stand for strong data protection and privacy. I want to bring these values to Facebook in Menlo Park in California,” he said.  

A global hub for virtual & augmented reality

Why Greater Zurich

Greater Zurich belongs alongside Silicon Valley as a global hub in the field of Computer Vision, the base technologies for VR/AR and other future applications. What success story would your ICT company like to write from Switzerland?

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