Infosys to open fourth innovation hub in Connecticut, to hire 1,000 by 2022

The hiring is part of Infosys' decision to recruit 10,000 Americans by setting up four such hubs across the US

Global software major Infosys on Thursday said it will soon open a technology and innovation hub in the US state of Connecticut and hire about 1,000 American workers by 2022.

"We will open our next technology and innovation hub at Harford in Connecticut and hire 1,000 American workers in the state by 2022," said the IT major in a statement.

The Connecticut hub will focus on insurance, healthcare and manufacturing to bring the company to the eastern state's clients and serve as the global hub for its InsurTech and HeathTech efforts.

"Investment in Connecticut is a part of our commitment to accelerate innovation for American enterprise by amplifying local talent and shrink the IT skills gap in the marketplace," asserted the statement.

The announcement of the company's fourth hub in North America comes 10 days after its first hub was inaugurated on March 6 at Indianapolis in Indiana state where it hired 2,500 American workers over the past year.

The hiring is part of the company's May 2, 2017, decision to recruit 10,000 Americans by setting up four such hubs across the US and focus on new technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, user experience, emerging digital technologies, cloud and big data.

The company earlier announced opening its second such hub at Raleigh in North Carolina in July 2017 and the third at Providence in Rhode Island in August 2017, where it plans to hire about 2,000 techies each by 2021-22.

The Indianapolis hub will train, upskill and reskill engineers in the technologies required for businesses to accelerate their digital transformations.

The hiring of Americans is seen as a fallout of US President Donald Trump's executive order on H1-B visas in April 2017, as clients in North America contribute about 60 per cent of the $10.3-billion company's software export revenue annually.

"Connecticut's assets and talent pipeline attract high calibre firms to the state, and I look forward to the value Infosys bring to our business community," said Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy on the occasion.

Though the city-based firm has not disclosed the investment made in the four tech hubs, its President Ravi Kumar said the investment at Hartford would strengthen its ability to serve clients' needs in the New England region and expand the local workforce to help its clients compete.

"Hartford's position as the world's insurance capital, paired with Connecticut's academic institutions will place us in proximity to clients and accelerate the recruitment of local talent," asserted Kumar in the statement.

The Connecticut hub will also include insurance and healthcare labs that focus on smart underwriting, claims fraud, IoT and cloud and will employ data security and data-sharing features to help the company's clients comply with privacy laws while promoting innovation.

"We will leverage the hub to train its employees and develop techniques with agile, development operations, cloud and information security projects," added the statement.