SAN JOSE — Logitech believes its quest to ride the cutting edge of the artificial intelligence boom is getting a huge boost because it’s located in San Jose, one of Silicon Valley’s primary digital hubs.
The maker of computer peripherals and software recently held an investors and analysts day at its co-headquarters in San Jose, including presentations by Hanneke Faber, Logitech’s chief executive officer.
Logitech’s big presence in San Jose at 3930 North First Street is a key factor behind the company’s ability to attract top talent in a place such as Silicon Valley as well as to be physically close to an array of key tech industry partners, in Faber’s view.
“The tech ecosystem is here in Silicon Valley,” Faber said in an interview with this news organization at the company’s north San Jose headquarters. “We need to be here.”
In 2023, Logitech moved its headquarters to the Assembly at North First office park. The company signed a lease in 2022 to move to the 3930 North First office building, which totals 86,200 square feet.
“We built this office during the pandemic,” Faber said. “We are surrounded by a whole tech ecosystem.”
Logitech, by being in San Jose, is in close proximity to several titans of the industry, including Zoom, Google, Microsoft, Apple and Facebook app owner Meta Platforms.
“We are deeply integrated with Zoom, Google, Microsoft,” Faber said. “We just launched a really cool stylus for Meta’s Quest headsets, we did that in very close collaboration. We make Apple’s keyboards. Apple is a close collaborator.”
Logitech’s presence in Silicon Valley also helps it to fully capitalize on the AI wave that is surging through the tech industry.
“We are already bringing AI-enabled products to market,” Faber said. “AI offers great opportunities for us to make better products across the range. You will increasingly see AI in your devices rather than in the cloud.”
Among the examples of Logitech’s AI push:
— The Zone Wireless Headset uses AI to learn the primary user’s voice and to cancel out background noise so that people speaking to the primary user only hear that person’s voice.
— Logitech has crafted AI-powered gear to work with Zoom and Microsoft conference technologies to remove the sometimes chaotic feel of a meeting with numerous participants. Among the capabilities is a device that can zoom in on the person speaking or zoom out to show two people speaking to each other, all on the fly as the meeting proceeds.
— The company also envisions widening opportunities for AI in gaming systems, not only in equipment but also in streaming.
“We say that the mouse built this house,” Faber said. “This company started with the mouse. Today we sell mice and keyboards, but we are also the global leader in videoconferencing. We are also the market leader in gaming, and that includes gaming headsets and gaming steering wheels.”
All of these efforts are expected to be bolstered by Logitech’s robust presence in San Jose.
“We’re really bullish on AI,” Faber said. “The world is coming to us rather than moving away from us at Logitech.”
More than 550 people work in Logitech’s Silicon Valley office, according to the company.
“It is priceless for us to be here in San Jose,” Faber said. “We love this community. It’s really important to be here for our partners and to have access to this talent.”