Infosys will soon open a technology hub at Richardson in the US state of Texas where it will hire 500 American techies by 2020, the global software major said on Wednesday.

“The new hub will drive expansion and create jobs in Texas to reinforce our commitment to workforce development in the US,” said the city-based IT major in a statement here.

The new employees would include graduates from Texas universities and colleges. They would benefit from upskilling through its training curriculum.

“The new technology and innovation hub will focus on telecommunications, retail and banking sectors,” said the statement.

The investment in Texas reinforces the outsourcing firm’s commitment to driving digital transformation for American enterprises by leveraging talent from the area alongside the best global talent available.

The investment in Texas is part of the company’s strategy to drive digital transformation of American businesses.

“Digital is changing every industry and our hubs will allow us to co-locate, co-innovate and co-create alongside our clients,” said Infosys Chief Operating Officer U.B. Pravin Rao on the occasion.

The $11-billion company’s foray into Texas in the southwest state is part of its strategic announcement decision on May 2, 2017 to hire about 10,000 Americans by 2023 to bridge the IT skills gap in the US.

The software behemoth on September 21 announced that it would hire about 1,000 Americans by 2023 at Phoenix in Arizona state, taking its local headcount in the US to 6,200 till date since May 2017.

The company’s other hubs are at Indianapolis in Indiana, Raleigh in North Carolina, Hartford in Connecticut and Providence in Rhode island.

The hiring of Americans is seen as a fallout of US President Donald Trump’s executive order on H1-B visas in April 2017, as clients in North America contribute about 60 per cent of the company’s software export revenue annually.

“Infosys’ expanded investment in our state will provide Texans with training and skills they need to compete in a technology-driven economy,” said Texas Governor Greg Abbott in the statement.

Thanking the Indian IT firm for helping more Texans be part of its workforce, Abbott said the opportunity would enable them to advance economically.

Infosys President for its US operations Ravi Kumar said the educational institutions in the southwest state were key to its workforce development efforts.

“Investment in Texas will improve our ability to serve clients by broadening the STEM talent pipeline and provide training for the skills our clients need,” Kumar added.

STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

“Infosys will benefit from the telecom corridor area’s access to companies across verticals, a pool of tech talent and academic partners for preparing professionals of tomorrow,” said Richardson Mayor Paul Voelkar.