Compass is expanding its tech operations globally, with plans to open a new technology hub and development center in Hyderabad, India. The company plans to hire as many 200 employees to fill the new office, which will be overseen by a former Amazon software development director and focus mostly on the development of mobile applications.
Joseph Sirosh | Photo credit: Compass
The new hub will be located in Hyderbad’s HITEC City, which already hosts offices from major tech players including Google, Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft. The area is a draw for top tech talent, which will allow Compass to hire as many as 200 individuals across engineering, product and design, executives said.
The focus will be on mobile cloud and data solutions for the company’s growing client base, as well as making overall developments to Compass’ technology stack.
“An opportunity as significant as transforming real estate, the largest global asset class, requires that we continually seek out top-notch software talent – wherever they may be,” Compass CTO Joseph Sirosh said in a statement.
Compass currently boasts a product and engineering staff of roughly 400. A company source told Inman that, in addition to the projected 200 additional jobs in India, the company plans to continue hiring at its tech hubs in Seattle, New York and Washington D.C. It is still finalizing its projected hiring numbers and total headcount for 2020.
“In the past year alone we have more than tripled our tech team here in the United States,” Sirosh said. “This injection of talent is enabling us to launch new features, including AI-powered recommendations, and rapidly improve CRM, Search, the Compass mobile app and more.”
“Having built and led engineering teams in Hyderabad in the past, I have seen first hand the impact HITECH City’s deep pool of software development talent can have,” Sirosh added. “This new tech hub will only serve to propel our momentum.”
Jaideep Ganguly | Photo credit: LinkedIn
Dr. Jaideep Ganguly will lead the HITEC City operation, serving as Compass’ vice president of engineering. Ganguly comes to Compass after nine years at Amazon where he served as director of software development, and a prior stint at Microsoft where he was the director of engineering.
“The chance to transform an industry is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Ganguly said in a statement. “What makes this an interesting challenge for developers is the direct impact on a very specific vertical – real estate. I’m excited to partner with [Sirosh] and build a top-tier team in Hyderabad to advance software solutions for Compass real estate agents across the U.S., and see its direct impact on their business.”
Compass’ massive growth in the product and engineering department can be directly attributed to the significant amount of capital the company has raised. To date, the company has raised $1.5 billion, none of which has been raised through debt financing.
Compass’ most recent funding round – which clocked in at $370 million – was earmarked specifically for platform development, the company said earlier this year.
Nonetheless, in the wake of missteps by other Softbank-backed startups like WeWork, which posted big losses prior to a failed initial public offering, a concern from some corners of the industry has arisen over Compass’ free-spending ways.
Sources close to the company, however, have said discussions are occurring at a high level on Compass’ ability to reach a point of profitability.
