Zendesk Expands Chat Development Centre in Singapore

February 21, 2017

SINGAPORE – 22 February 2017: Zendesk, Inc. (NYSE: ZEN) today announced the expansion of its Chat Development Centre, growing the office in Singapore, which is also the company’s Asia Pacific Commercial Headquarters, to accommodate more than 120 staff with support from the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB).

Zendesk’s Asia Pacific (APAC) Commercial Headquarters and Chat Development Centre in Singapore was first established through the acquisition of Singaporean startup Zopim Technologies, specializing in Chat technology in 2014. Since the acquisition, Zendesk has grown its business recently experiencing a 40 percent year-over-year increase of paid customer accounts in Singapore to end December 2016. The company currently boasts Lazada, FoodPanda, British Council Singapore and Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (Singtel) as notable customers in Singapore.

“Singapore is a key international market for us and our commercial headquarters in the APAC region. It is home to a highly skilled workforce that understands technology and embraces innovation,” said Mikkel Svane, founder and CEO, Zendesk. “EDB’s support to expand Zendesk’s Chat Development Centre in Singapore represents our collective commitment to nurturing skills in this country as well as our continued investment in our business locally.”
As the Chat Development Centre expands, Zendesk will focus on hiring for its Chat Research and Development (R&D) team over the next few years, with roles distributed across the entire product development activity chain. Zendesk will continue to tap into deep engineering talent in Singapore, exploring opportunities to partner with local universities and research institutes to complement its efforts in product innovation and commercialization.

“We are pleased that Zendesk is expanding and deepening its presence in Singapore. By leveraging Singapore’s growing talent eco-system for Digital, Zendesk is able to push the boundaries of big data analytics to carry out end-to-end development of its Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software for a global clientele,” said Mr. Kiren Kumar, assistant managing director at EDB. “We hope that this partnership will help inspire young Singaporeans about the transformational and scalable possibilities in the Digital sector, and support our drive to build an innovation-led economy.”

Zendesk’s expansion of its APAC commercial headquarters and Chat Development Centre in Singapore joins four other Zendesk offices in the region- Zendesk’s Asia Pacific Development Centre based in Melbourne, a Customer Experience Hub in Manila, and sales offices in Tokyo and Bengaluru. The APAC region is a key focus for Zendesk with paid customer accounts growing by over 35 percent year-on-year to end December 2016.

Zendesk’s Neighbor Foundation Programme

Apart from expanding its business activities in Singapore, Zendesk is also stepping up its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts, with the launch of the Zendesk Neighbor Foundation in-region, partnering with the Salvation Army and Cycling Without Age (CWA) to support local community initiatives. As part of the launch, the Zendesk Neighbor Foundation donated trishaws to the local CWA team which works to break age barriers by pairing seniors with volunteer cyclists to share a bike ride.

“The launch of the Singapore chapter of our global Zendesk Neighbor Foundation and extension of the Cycling Without Age initiative continues our commitment to supporting the communities in which we operate and is a key aspect of the culture of Zendesk,” said Tiffany Apczynski, VP public policy and social impact, Zendesk. “This year, Zendesk Neighbor Foundation is planning to give approximately $115,000 in grants in Singapore, and the local team has committed to 1,000 volunteer hours to support local causes.”

Modeled after Zendesk’s CSR program at its San Francisco headquarters, the Singapore community volunteer hour commitments will focus on charities that promote workforce development and technical literacy, and improve education and professional development for underserved youth.

About Zendesk

Zendesk builds software for better customer relationships. It empowers organizations to improve customer engagement and better understand their customers. More than 94,000 paid customer accounts in over 150 countries and territories use Zendesk products. Based in San Francisco, Zendesk has operations in the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America. Learn more at www.zendesk.com.