LONDON: Dyson, the inventor of the bagless vacuum cleaner, said it would invest £2.75 billion in new technology in the next five years to double its product portfolio, including devices that would take it beyond the home.
Founded by Briton James Dyson in the 1990s, Dyson said a focus would be an investment in the solid-state battery technology it was developing for an electric car project that it abandoned last year.
Robotics, motor technology, intelligent products and machine learning would also receive investment, it said.
“Now is the time to invest in new technologies such as energy storage, robotics and software which will drive performance and sustainability in our products for the benefit of Dyson’s customers,” said Chief Executive Roland Krueger.
“We will expand our existing product categories, as well as enter entirely new fields for Dyson over the next five years.”
The investment will be divided between the company’s new global head office complex in Singapore, its two campuses in Wiltshire, southern England, where it employs more than 4,000 engineers and other staff, and the Philippines.
Dyson said in July that it would cut 900 jobs out of a global workforce of 14,000 due to the impact of the pandemic on consumer demand.
Dyson’s products include hair care, hand driers and air purifiers, as well as vacuums, which now come battery powered.
It did not disclose exactly what products it was working on.