Uber opens new engineering hub, whilst expanding existing self-driving centre

Uber has announced that it is expanding its existing self-driving centre, and opening a completely new engineering office in Toronto in early 2019, investing more than C$200 million over five years. 

The new engineering office will be focused on building, operating and continuously updating the vast infrastructure and backend systems that power Uber’s products.

As a result, Uber will create hundreds of new tech and engineering jobs in Canada. When combined with its local ride-sharing and food delivery businesses, Uber’s overall headcount in Toronto will exceed 500 employees.

“At Uber, we recognise Canada’s commitment to innovation and the vibrancy of Toronto’s tech ecosystem,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s Chief Executive Officer. “We want to support the innovation coming out of this great, diverse region.”

Over 15 months, Uber Advanced Technologies Group’s (ATG’s) self-driving R&D centre in Toronto has delivered significant technical breakthroughs towards making self-driving at scale a safe and reliable reality. The research has already contributed towards advancing the performance and adding new capabilities to Uber’s self-driving fleet.

The ATG’s Toronto centre is Uber’s first self-driving office outside the U.S.

“Working at Uber ATG has allowed me to elevate my academic research to the next level through real-world applications. Uber is at the forefront of self-driving technology and I am honoured to have the opportunity to be part of building the future of transportation,” stated Raquel Urtasun, Uber ATG’s Chief Scientist and Head of the ATG’s Toronto centre. “I am proud to be part of Toronto’s ongoing efforts to embrace diversity and technological innovation and am thrilled that we are expanding ATG’s efforts here to make self-driving technology a reality.”

The new Canadian engineering hub will join global efforts to ensure platform reliability and efficiency; offering more functionality to riders, drivers and cities. This means, for example, stronger and faster deployment for new features in the Uber app.

As the Canadian engineering centre is launched, Uber will support and help grow the Canadian tech ecosystem, offering opportunities for current Uber engineers to relocate from various sites to Toronto. Toronto will be Uber’s eighth engineering hub outside the U.S., joining a strong technical community across Europe, India and Latin America.

“This expansion comes at an exciting time for engineers at Uber,” said Thuan Pham, Uber’s Chief Technology Officer. “We have a number of big bets on our roadmap that create unique challenges and opportunities for engineers interested in helping to build the future of their cities. There is still a lot to be written in the history of Uber engineering and we’re excited for the local and international talent Toronto attracts to help us define the next chapter.”