Capture One to set up R&D hub in Athens

Image editing software developer Capture One, a spinoff of Danish company Phase One, has announced via Kathimerini the company’s entry into Greece with the creation of a new research and development hub in Athens which is seen attracting young information technology experts.

“Athens seems like one of the last perfect places in Europe to start an engineering team – great talent, reasonable cost and a Western mind-set,” says Hans Skovgaard, chief technology officer (CTO) at Capture One.

The countdown for the project has already started, with the company preparing the creation of 60 jobs in the next two years with the aim of upgrading the products Capture One offers to its customers – i.e. photographers and retailers.

Capture One was founded in late 2019 as a spinoff of Phase One, which produces high-quality cameras. The objective of Capture One is the digital upgrading of photos taken using the appliances of global market leaders such as Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fujifilm and Phase One.

“The company cooperates with strong players in retail and e-shops, as through the platform our customers are able to reproduce with precision the colors and features of their products,” explains the company’s director of engineering, Kostas Kastrinogiannis, who is also responsible for the opening of the new R&D center in Athens.

Kastrinogiannis is the link between the two countries, undertaking all procedures for the implementation of the plan. “Our objective is to start with 37 people by 2021 and reach up to 60 in 2022. We cannot rule out hiring any more, given that this is a long-term investment,” he tells Kathimerini. “We are already looking for buildings between Maroussi and Kifissia and we expect to launch our new offices in December,” he adds.

He goes on to estimate that the arrival of Capture One, a high-tech company, in Greece will operate as a catalyst for the return of talented scientists from abroad: “Greek engineers are excellent at resolving problems. They also carry on learning throughout their career as if they were at their first year in college,” notes Kastrinogiannis: “These features make them particularly attractive to innovation companies, which discover new instruments and techniques to develop their products every day,” he says.