One of the world’s leading semiconductor research labs will open its first Gulf R&D center in Doha this year. Belgium-based Imec is looking to hire 100 people in the city by 2030, including research engineers, in a boon to the Qatari capital’s efforts to build a homegrown technology industry. Imec, a 42-year-old research juggernaut, generates $1.3 billion in annual revenue by bridging cutting-edge academic research with commercial applications, an executive told Semafor.
Imec considered opening in Abu Dhabi or Riyadh, the person said, but chose Qatar after being impressed by its effort to build a training pipeline rather than simply buying and importing technology.
Doha is also attractive as a base for engineers from South Asia, the executive added, as immigration uncertainty in the US looms large for foreign talent. This week Qatar expanded its visa program to offer long-term residency to entrepreneurs and executives. It also signed a deal to set up an innovation hub in Doha in partnership with Germany’s DEEP Institute for Deep Tech Innovation, and signed a training deal with California-based Scale AI.