The Welsh word Hiraeth does not have an exact translation into English; the closest expression would be a combination of longing and nostalgia, especially for one’s home. Over a decade ago, Matt Warren was living in London with his family and felt the hiraeth for home, for Wales.
When he moved back to Wales, Matt believed that tech companies could create high quality jobs in the country and help retain the young Welsh talent that often moves to London for work. Matt decided to start his own company, Veeqo, which began creating shipping and inventory management software to help online sellers achieve success with their businesses. The company grew fast, raising over £5 million in funding from investors and growing its client base locally and internationally to more than 1,000 customers.
Veeqo’s success eventually led to Amazon acquiring the company in 2021. “It was a very proud moment for the team”, Matt says. “It felt incredible that Amazon wanted to invest in the team and software we had built, and it was the first time that one of the global tech companies had acquired a Welsh company.”
In the three years since Amazon acquired Veeqo, its employees have doubled from 70 to 140, and the company now has team members based around the world – from London to Seattle. The Swansea team has moved into brand new premises at Amazon’s first development centre in Wales, which opened its doors in 2022.
The new Veeqo jobs created after Amazon’s acquisition include highly-skilled tech roles such as software development engineers, technical product managers, and knowledge engineers, as well as UX designers and business analysts. Veeqo also works closely with nearby universities, including the University of Swansea and The University of Wales Trinity Saint David, to provide placements for software and engineering students.
Since 2010 Amazon has invested over £2 billion and created more than 2,000 full and part-time jobs in Wales; and with over 75,000 permanent employees, we are one of the top 10 private sector employers in the UK.
