Google setting up first Asia-focused hub in Singapore

To better serve its users in Southeast Asia, Google is creating its first engineering team dedicated to the region. To kick off the recruitment drive it's acquired Pie, a startup in Singapore that was developing a service for workplace communications.

Google says it's also on the lookout for new hires - both graduates and experienced engineers - to bulk up its team, and will be inviting its employees with "deep ties to Singapore" to consider relocating to the city. Students can also apply for a 12-week internship, although these will be taking place in Australia.

With this initiative, Google recognises that internet "first-timers" in Southeast Asia are often different to those in the US. Many use a low-cost smartphone as their primary computing device, for instance, rather than a laptop or PC.

Internet connectivity can also be a problem, either because of its cost, speed or reliability. It makes sense to build a team that's closer to these users and understands the cultural differences. A dedicated, local crew should be nimbler, reacting faster to the community and organically coming up with new, tailored ideas.

"That's why we're building a new engineering team in Singapore," Google's Caesar Sengupta said in a blog post. "To get closer to the next billion users coming online and to develop products that will work for them."

While developed markets take unlimited data for granted, a lot of the world is still struggling to get online.

This latest Singapore hub joins those in Mountain View in the United States, Sydney in Australia, and Hyderabad in India.

The gap between the modern and developed world is starkly illustrated by Singapore and its neighbours. The city-state of Singapore is as modern as it gets - a hyper-connected, business-driven metropolis. But its surrounding region is plagued with weaknesses; from cheap devices to low speed internet to language barriers. The internet is not friendly to the people of nearby Indonesia, Philippines, and India.

Google has already increased accessibility, such as providing free high-speed Wi-Fi in India and enabling Google Maps and YouTube for offline use, but now it has to ensure ease of usage. Earlier this week, Google's parent company, Alphabet, reached a deal with the Indonesian and Sri Lankan governments to go forward with Project Loon.

By leveraging on the talent of the region, Google will aim to address issues that hit closest to home. In fact it recently acquired an engineering startup. The tech giant is looking to train up to 100,000 Indonesian developers to focus especially on native language content development. To do so, they will work with local universities, conduct mentor-led study groups, and also translate Google's own free Udacity courses into Bahasa.