Dyson to invest billions globally in new tech

Household goods manufacturer Dyson is to invest an additional £2.75 billion over the next five years as it moves into AI, robotics and battery technology.

David Sapsted

27 November 2020

Much of the investment in emerging technologies will be spent in the UK - home of the company's main research facilities - and Singapore, where Dyson moved its administrative headquarters last year. The company is also creating a new software hub at Alabang in the Philippines.Dyson, which has about 13,000 employees worldwide, said one of its investment priorities would be the commercialisation of its solid state battery technology, which is already under development in Singapore, the UK, the United States and Japan. The objective is to produce batteries that provide cleaner and more efficient energy storage than existing ones.Ronald Krueger, Dyson CEO, said: "Now is the time to invest in new technologies such as energy storage, robotics and software which will drive performance and sustainability in our products for the benefit of Dyson's customers."We will expand our existing product categories, as well as enter entirely new fields for Dyson over the next five years. This will start a new chapter in Dyson's development."The new investment will include construction of an advanced manufacturing hub in Singapore, where its new global head office is scheduled to open next year and where R&D facilities are due to be expanded.The Straits Times reported on Friday that Dyson also intends to establish a new university research programme in Singapore to drive product development and build on its existing global programmes.Dyson currently supports 22 university research programmes, including long-standing projects with institutions such as Oxford University, Imperial College London and Cambridge University.At its own two research facilities in Wiltshire, where it employs more than 4,000 staff, Dyson will focus the new investment on advanced robotics research and artificial intelligence with the aim of driving innovation in new technologies and products, including devices for sustainable, healthy indoor environments.In the Philippines, Scott Maguire, Dyson’s chief operating officer, said the new investment would create 400 highly skilled roles in software engineering and development over the next three years.Currently, Dyson’s advanced manufacturing facilities in the Philippines employs 600 people and produces 13 million Dyson Hyperdymium digital motors annually.Earlier this year, Dyson announced it was reducing its global workforce by about 900 because of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on its business. The company also scrapped plans to produce an electric car in Singapore, saying it was not commercially viable.