Tobi Oluwatoyin
The US technology giant Apple announced on Thursday that it would invest an additional one billion euros ($1.1 billion) in growing its Munich, Germany, microchip design hub.
The six-year investment will be added to the one billion euros already committed, which was announced in 2021 when Apple chose Munich as the location of its “Silicon Design Center” for Europe.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said, “Our Munich engineering teams are at the forefront of innovation, helping imagine new technologies at the heart of the products we make.
The action is a part of Apple’s plan to produce its own chips for MacBooks, iPhones, iPads, and other products in order to lessen reliance on external suppliers.
A global semiconductor shortage brought on by supply chain changes during the pandemic hindered crucial industries and forced Europe and the US to consider ways to reduce their reliance on Asian production.
Three new research and development facilities, each housing about 2,000 engineers, will be built at the current Munich hub, according to Apple’s latest investment.
The R&D teams in Munich would contribute to developing products that deliver “greater performance, efficiency, and power savings,” said Johny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware technologies.
In Germany, Apple employs about 4,500 people and has a location in Munich since 1981.
