Downtown Indy Space to Become Infosys U.S. ‘Hub’
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowState, city and company officials Tuesday laid out several reasons for why India-based technology giant Infosys selected Indianapolis as its first U.S. tech and innovation hub. They include Indiana’s talent pool and academic pipeline. The company plans to invest more than $8.7 million into Indy, hiring up to 2,000 workers by 2022. Infosys says it will occupy around 35,000 square-feet of space in OneAmerica Tower downtown. In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Indiana India Business Council President Raju Chinthala said the courting process was extensive.
Chinthala served as a liaison between Infosys and state officials. He says the company visited Indianapolis in late February as part of a national search for new locations. In March 13th, he traveled with a delegation to India that included Secretary of Commerce Jim Schellinger, which involved a trip to the Infosys campus. More than a month later, Infosys executives reached an agreement with the Indiana Economic Development Corp. and on May 2nd, the decision to locate to central Indiana became public. At the time, neither the company nor the state was saying where the hub would end up.
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett was joined at a news conference Tuesday morning at Lucas Oil Stadium by Governor Eric Holcomb and representatives from the state and Infosys. He told Inside INdiana Business the selection is a "huge win for the city." He added the company’s presence will "create a culture that will bring more and more emerging technology companies to Indianapolis, so it feeds on itself."
Infosys provides consulting services in areas including artificial intelligence, machine learning, cloud technology and big data.
The state is offering Infosys a conditional incentives package that could total $31 million if all training and hiring targets are hit. Infosys could also receive several million from the city of Indianapolis for proposed tax abatement and training grants. The company says hiring will begin swiftly, with 100 expected to be added by year’s end and 400 set to be hired by the end of next year. As a condition for receiving its tax breaks from the city, Infosys says it would add at least 300 net-new jobs by the end of 2019. These positions are expected to pay an average of $36 per hour.