Razer to house more than 1,000 staff by 2020 in Southeast Asia headquarters

Razer will be getting a new Southeast Asia headquarters by 2020 which will house more than 1,000 employees, an approximately two and a half times increase from its current headcount. The new headquarters is one of Razer's two global headquarters and will comprise office space, R&D labs and design studios spread across seven stories. The company currently employs around 400 staff in its Singapore office, spanning roles from product development, sales and marketing, legal and finance, among others. By the end of 2020, Razer expects to add headcount to support the expansion of existing business units, as well as in emerging new business areas to cement its leadership as the world’s largest integrated ecosystem for gamers. This comes after it recently confirmed to Marketing that it will be axing several staff members from its mobile division, while reassigning others to new projects. Meanwhile, Razer will also increase its investment in internal skills training for its employees, which will be conducted in-house in the new headquarters and across all offices globally. This will deepen staff proficiencies not only in their areas of expertise, but also broaden their skillsets in other areas to better support cross-functional development. The new building will feature several smart solutions to boost its environmental friendliness, reduce its carbon footprint, and enhance the everyday working experience for Razer staff. Lush greenery on the ground and mid-level sky terraces are integrated with communal spaces and public pedestrian thoroughfares to facilitate social interactions. Public events will also be held at these communal areas to promote a vibrant knowledge-sharing environment, such as product showcases, industry exhibitions, expert-led forum discussions and more. The building's exterior will also come alive with millions of colors streaking across the hallmark Razer black and green façade, with plans to be powered by Razer’s Chroma lighting technology. In support of Singapore’s car-lite vision, the headquarters will include facilities encouraging employees to engage in alternative modes of commuting, such as cycling. Razer will also explore the use of alternative sources of clean energy such as solar power and batteries to power certain features of the building. In the meantime, Razer also announced the launch of its next-generation digital real estate start-up Echo Base. It aims to disrupt traditional real estate development by incorporating a seamless digital layer including AI, Internet of Things and other next-generation technologies into real estate development projects. Echo Base will focus on the development, investment and management of smart buildings and integrated developments in Asia Pacific and selected global gateway cities. It is backed by Moor House Capital, an investment holding company majority-controlled by Razer's co-founder and CEO Min-Liang Tan, and Boustead Projects. Tan said it has come a long way since the company jump started the gaming and e-sports industry approximately 15 years ago. “The phenomenal growth of gaming and esports across the world has propelled us to become one of the first billion-dollar lifestyle brands for gamers, and we can’t wait to move into our new home to better serve the 2.3 billion gamers across the world," he said. “At their new home, Razer will develop and scale new products, services, business models and partnerships, as well as invest in new technologies such as AI, Data Analytics, IoT and Cloud. These are important drivers for business innovation and will create new-tech jobs and skills for Singaporeans to succeed in the digital economy,” Kiren Kumar, assistant managing director, Singapore Economic Development Board, said. Last year, Tan said it is looking to bring its smartphones to other markets in 2019, with Malaysia being a key market it is looking into. Read also: Razer Game Store ceases online operations as part of ‘realignment plans’ Razer CEO defends RM10m investment into MY e-sports scene after ‘abusive messages’ Razer tapped as official e-sports partner of SEA Games 2019 Razer inks deal with NETS to expand Razer Pay across Singapore Singtel and Razer launch regional e-sports games, eye digital content growth