“These two major investments underscore Hikvision’s R&D globalisation strategy and the commitment to providing innovative, cutting-edge technology products tailored to the needs of our worldwide partners and customers,” Yangzhong Hu, CEO of Hikvision said.

Expected to open in 2017, the Montreal Hikvision R&D Centre will focus on engineering development. The Silicon Valley Hikvision Research Institute will focus on broad technology research.

Montreal is an ideal location for the new R&D Centre because of its excellent talent pool and business-friendly environment. Likewise, the high-tech hub of Silicon Valley is the logical location for the Hikvision Research Institute.

Based in Hangzhou, China, Hikvision has more than 8,000 R&D engineers, one of the largest in the video surveillance industry, and it dedicates about 7 percent of its revenues to R&D. The R&D Centre and Research Institute in North American will be the first established outside of China. This move is “part of Hikvision’s global strategy to advance its local support and service in regions outside of China,” said Hu.