Starbucks Announces Chennai As Location For New Tech Center

India-West News Desk

CHENNAI – Starbucks will open a new technology hub in Chennai as part of its plans to establish a technology presence in India, the company announced September 21.

The Chennai office will support Starbucks’ global business and work with technology and business teams in the U.S. and other locations, including Seattle, Nashville, London and Hong Kong.

Starbucks had announced earlier this year that it planned to open a technology hub in India in fiscal year 2027, but had not identified a location at the time.

Anand Varadarajan, Starbucks’ executive vice president and chief technology officer, announced the Chennai selection in a message to the company’s Technology team.

“This is an important milestone in how we continue to build a more flexible and globally connected Technology organization,” Varadarajan said.

The company said Chennai was selected based on several factors, including its pool of technology talent, talent retention and its ability to support Starbucks’ long-term business needs.

The new hub will also allow Starbucks to gradually bring some work currently handled by third-party service providers in-house, the company said.

The Chennai office will become part of Starbucks’ broader Technology organization and will work with teams at its other locations. Starbucks said the office is intended to strengthen how its technology teams work across sites and focus on shared priorities.

The project is still in its early stages. Over the coming months, Starbucks will begin planning for local hiring, office readiness and the operations needed to support the new hub.

Recruiting is expected to begin in the first quarter of fiscal year 2027, with additional details to be announced as plans are finalized.