Coupang to set up technology centre in India, begins recruitment drive

Coupang, a prominent online retail giant headquartered in the United States (US), is gearing up to establish a cutting-edge technology centre in India, aiming to hire several dozen skilled professionals by the end of the year, Business Standard has learnt.

The intended expansion involves the recruitment of software engineers across various domains, underscoring Coupang’s commitment to extend its global reach.

The Indian team will support the company’s global technology team, sources said.

At present, the company has technology centres in the US, South Korea, and China.

The company's recruitment drive has already been set into motion, with official announcements being disseminated via key social media platforms such as LinkedIn and the official company website, they said.

The initial phase of expansion will involve the hiring of staff software engineers, senior staff software engineers, and directors of engineering.

Additional recruitment drives for various roles are slated for subsequent years.

The anticipated responsibilities of the engineers encompass a spectrum ranging from the conceptualisation and development of intricate data lakes and data warehouses to the construction and maintenance of intricate data pipelines.

These vital components are instrumental in steering data-driven decision-making processes that fuel the company's operational excellence.

The company is also scouting for office space in the “Silicon Valley of India” —  Bengaluru, according to well-placed sources within the industry.

Queries sent to Coupang did not elicit a response till press time.

This ambitious undertaking takes root in Coupang's impressive financial performance spanning four consecutive quarters.

Notably, the company achieved a ground-breaking milestone by turning profitable for the first time during the third quarter of the previous financial year.

A noteworthy transformation unfolded in the second quarter of this financial year (FY23), where Coupang declared a substantial net income of $145 million, in stark contrast to the $75 million loss reported in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year.

The company reported a remarkable surge in sales, amounting to $5.8 billion during the second quarter, marking a 16 percent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth on a reported basis. Furthermore, the operating income soared to $1.5 billion, marking an impressive 32 per cent Y-o-Y increase.

The 2010-founded firm solidified its stature as a leading e-commerce retailer in South Korea, with operations spanning the US, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, and China.

The company has a 19 million active customer base globally, highlighted in its Q1FY23 report.

The company is one of the largest private sector employers in South Korea and employs approximately 63,000 employees as of December 31, 2022, as detailed in its annual report.