Apple's office space in Benguluru agreed to lease more than 40,000 sq ft

BENGALURU: Apple has agreed to lease more than 40,000 square feet of office space in Bengaluru, where the US-based iPhone maker intends to set up a development centre, three people familiar with the matter said.

The new facility is at Galleria, a 3 lakh sqft office space that belongs to Standard Brick Tile Company in North Bengaluru. It has tenants such as Comviva and Atkins. "The Apple facility will be spread over two floors and house its high-end development centre," said one of the people.

Apple didn't respond to an email seeking comment until press time on Sunday. Cushman & Wakefield was the adviser to the deal. In May, Apple announced setting up of a new iOS app design and development accelerator in Bengaluru, to support engineering talent and accelerate growth in India's iOS developer community. The accelerator is expected to open in early 2017.

Tens of thousands of developers in India make apps for iOS, the mobile operating system that is the foundation for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

The company said Apple 's team would work to inspire and instruct developers on best practices, help them hone their skills and transform the design, quality and performance of their apps on the iOS platform. "India is home to one of the most vibrant and entrepreneurial iOS development communities in the world," CEO Tim Cook had said in a press statement. "With the opening of this new facility in Bengaluru, we're giving developers access to tools, which will help them create innovative apps for customers around the world."

The facility will also provide support and guidance on Swift, Apple's powerful and intuitive programming language created to build apps for iOS, Mac, Apple TV and Apple Watch . Swift enables developers to write safer, more reliable codes, save time and create richer app experiences.

The facility in Bengaluru will be Apple's second after Hyderabad, where it has taken 2.5 lakh sq ft of office space in a special economic zone at Gachibowli. The $25 million technology centre is set to focus on the development of maps products and employ 4,000 people.

Bengaluru and Hyderabad have been the top destinations for technology firms, including Google and Microsoft to expand their presence in India. Together, these cities account for nearly 72% of the total office space demand in India, owing mainly to the IT-ITeS sector. According to real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield, demand for office space in India grew 19% in the first quarter of 2016 to 11.7 million sq ft in the top eight markets.

Source: techgig.com