Constant Contact, a digital marketing platform entrusted by millions of small businesses and non-profits, is opening an innovation lab in Waterloo. A strategic investment aimed at supercharging the company’s product development and research capabilities, this investment is the company’s first Canadian office.
“We chose the Waterloo-Toronto region for this expansion because it is Canada’s leading technology ecosystem and one of the most innovative corridors in North America” says Frank Vella, CEO at Constant Contact.
“Establishing a presence there gives us a strong foundation for growth and provides access to top tech talent that can help us accelerate product research and enhance our capabilities. We are committed to growing in Canada and we look forward to becoming a fixture in the Waterloo community in the coming years.”
Constant Contact’s innovation lab will act as a hub for advanced research and product development in areas like artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Waterloo’s exceptional tech talent – North America’s #1 small tech talent market for two years in a row – was a driving factor in the company’s decision, as was proximity to the University of Waterloo – Canada’s top tech school and the biggest tech school ranked in the global top-25. Constant Contact’s highly successful student development program will offer students hands-on experience working directly with engineers to shape the future of its product pipeline.
“Waterloo Region’s reputation for innovation rests on our exceptional talent, dynamic tech ecosystem and our incredible post-secondary institutions, like the University of Waterloo,” says Tony LaMantia, President & CEO at Waterloo EDC.
“With their emphasis on collaboration, growth and transformation, I think Constant Contact is going to fit right in with Waterloo’s community of tech leaders.”
The community’s emphasis on collaboration and innovation aligns directly with Constant Contact’s goal of driving product development and exciting new technological advances at its new innovation lab.
Their location in the Communitech Hub – Canada’s leading technology hub – will place Constant Contact at the centre of a tech community that includes hundreds of startups, fast-growing scale-ups like Faire and ApplyBoard and significant tech-related facilities for global companies like Ford, Deloitte and TD Bank.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Constant Contact to the Communitech Hub and Waterloo Region’s world-class ecosystem of tech,” said Chris Albinson, CEO and President of Communitech. “Our innovation community is strengthened by the support of partners like Constant Contact who share in our passion for fostering the next generation of tech talent.”
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