US tech firm Xilinx Inc. is to invest £3.8 million in its specialist research centre in Edinburgh, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed yesterday, Sunday April 2 2017.

The centre will also be supported by a £1.01 million research and development grant through Scottish Enterprise, creating 12 new jobs and protecting 30 existing jobs.

Xilinx Scotland will develop technologies for communications applications, specifically targeting 5G opportunities and aims to establish itself as a centre of excellence and a leading developer of new products for future communications systems.

Welcoming the announcement ahead of a week of engagements in the United States, the First Minister said:

“The USA is Scotland’s top source of inward investment and Xilinx Inc. is another example of a leading technology company harnessing our highly educated and skilled workforce.

This is fantastic news for this specialist sector in Scotland with new jobs being created and existing ones protected. It also demonstrates our strength and expertise in developing these state of the art technologies.

We are committed to building on these successes and attracting more companies to invest and expand here. That is why next week I’ll travel to the United States to promote trade and investment between our two countries.”