IBM Invests $2 Billion in New York Research Hub for AI Hardware

Olivia Carville (Bloomberg) -- IBM is plowing $2 billion into a new artificial intelligence research hub in New York as part of its efforts to boost growth from emerging technologies.

The AI Hardware Center at the SUNY Polytechnic Institute campus in Albany, New York, will focus on computer-chip research, development, prototyping, testing and simulation, IBM said in a statement Thursday. Governor Andrew Cuomo was on site to announce the investment, in partnership with New York State, and said the center would attract new companies in the AI field and federal research and create several hundred new jobs.

“Artificial intelligence has the potential to transform how we live and how businesses operate, and this partnership with IBM will help ensure New York continues to be on the cutting edge developing innovative technologies," Cuomo said in a statement.

International Business Machines Corp., based in Armonk, New York, has been pushing into fast-growing new technologies, like AI, cloud-computing platforms and analytics to spur growth and shift away from legacy businesses such as mainframe computers. IBM lags Amazon.com Inc and Microsoft Corp. in the cloud, where many AI applications are accessed.

IBM also plans to expand and extend its partnership with SUNY Poly for the Center for Semiconductor Research, which is set to expire at the end of 2021.