Ericsson sets up new Artificial Intelligence lab in Bengaluru; to hire 150 engineers in 2019

Swedish telecom gear maker Ericsson has set up a Global Artificial Intelligence Accelerator (GAIA) in Bengaluru, India to focus on research and development in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Automation.

The new innovation hub will help create 150 new jobs for data scientists, engineers, ML/AI architects, and software developers in 2019.

Ericsson already has Global Artificial Intelligence Accelerators in the US and Sweden.

Globally, Ericsson will employ over 300 data scientists, data engineers, ML/AI architects, and software developers across its Global AI accelerators.

The Company intends to explore partnerships with telecom service providers, industry stakeholders, startups and academia to bolster innovation.

The vendor said that the facility will be key in accelerating the execution of Ericsson’s focused strategy by leveraging AI and Automation technologies to create data driven, intelligent, and robust systems for automation, evolution, and growth.

“The setting up of Global AI Accelerator in India is testament to Ericsson’s long-term commitment to India, to the rich talent pool as well as the vibrant ecosystem available in the country. GAIA has been set up as a central unit to be able to accelerate projects across Ericsson’s portfolio across the 4 Business Areas as well as customer projects across the 5 Market Areas,” said Sanjeev Tyagi, Head of Ericsson R&D Bengaluru.

Ericsson said that several projects are already underway within the company to bring in AI and Automation capabilities to its product portfolio across Business Areas.

“With the advent of 5G and IoT, we expect to see an explosion in the number of potential ways in which we will use the networks of the future. The traditional methods of managing and running networks will no longer scale. AI/ML driven automation will be a necessity to manage these networks. These data-centric technologies also open up the potential to tap new revenue generating opportunities and business models for telecom service providers,” Tyagi added.