Facebook-owned company to move into Oakland
A Facebook-owned company that designs virtual reality systems said it will move into an Oakland office building as it expands in Pittsburgh.
“The new office will allow us to build a small team in Pittsburgh to focus on virtual reality research,” said Tera Randall, a spokeswoman for Silicon Valley-based Oculus VR, which Facebook acquired for $2 billion in March 2014.
Oculus has reached a deal to lease one floor in the seven-story Schenley Place office building that is nearing completion. It's on Bayard Street, between the University of Pittsburgh's Crawford and Langley halls and the First Baptist Church of Pittsburgh.
Randall did not provide details.
Eric Schindler of Downtown's Elmhurst Group, which developed Schenley Place, declined to comment on the deal, citing a confidentiality agreement.
Pittsburgh has become a destination for several of the world's biggest and hottest tech firms, including Google Inc., which employs hundreds of people in the East End's Bakery Square; Apple Inc., which will lease office space in the Strip District's 3 Crossings complex; and Uber Technologies Inc., which created an autonomous vehicle research center in Lawrenceville.
“It's further validation for Pittsburgh, and I think it provides (Facebook's Oculus) with great access to talent” coming out of Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, said Pittsburgh Technology Council President and CEO Audrey Russo.
An online search shows that Oculus has at least three research scientists and a 3-D artist in Pittsburgh, along with interns. The research scientists are former postdoctoral fellows at Carnegie Mellon. The employees did not return messages.
Oculus employs several people with Carnegie Mellon ties elsewhere, including Dov Katz, the company's head of computer vision research and development. He formerly served as a postdoctoral fellow at Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute.
Oculus' website lists four job openings in Pittsburgh. The company is seeking a postdoctoral research scientist in computer vision; a computer vision engineer; a computer vision researcher; and a software engineer.
“As a computer vision engineer at Oculus, you'll be solving challenges … that transform virtual reality from dream to reality. We're looking for a creative engineer to usher in the next era of human-computer interaction by solving hard and exciting computer vision problems,” one of the job postings reads.
“By joining Google, Bosch, Uber, Apple and others, the announcement by Facebook further cements Pittsburgh's status as an expanding global innovation center for the new technology-based economic revolution,” said Kevin Acklin, Mayor Bill Peduto's chief of staff and chief development officer.
Social media giant Facebook bought Oculus in a $2 billion deal that included $400 million in cash and 23.1 million shares of Facebook common stock then valued at $1.6 billion, based on the company's 20-day average closing price of $69.35 per share. Facebook stock closed at $94.97 a share on Monday.
In addition to its Menlo Park headquarters in Silicon Valley and the Pittsburgh office, Oculus has operations in Dallas; London; Redmond, Wash.; San Francisco; and Seattle.
The company started taking pre-orders for its Oculus Rift virtual reality headset Jan. 6. Each sells for $599.
Tom Fontaine is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 412-320-7847 or tfontaine@tribweb.com.
