Amazon is opening a research centre in Germany dedicated to developing AI and exploring its effect on customer experience.
The online retailer hopes the new centre – based in Germany’s ‘cyber valley’ in the region of Stuttgart and Tübingen – will combine academic and industry research to advance AI, specifically around visual systems.
Amazon already owns three research centres in Germany (Berlin, Dresden and Aachen), with the Tübingen site expected to create 100 plus jobs over the next five years.
Established last December, Germany’s ‘Cyber Valley’ is a collaboration between the Max Planck Society, the State of Baden-Württemberg, two technical universities, and six leading global companies including Facebook, IAV, ZF Friedrichshafen – and now Amazon.
The US ecommerce giant will be contributing €1.25 million to establish the Tübingen hub, as ‘Cyber Valley’ aims to accomplish for AI what Silicon Valley did for tech.
Earlier this month, Amazon acquired AI human body model start-up Body Labs for an estimated €50 million.
Ralf Herbrich, director of machine learning at Amazon, said: “With our Amazon Research centre in Tübingen, we will become part of one of the largest research initiatives in Europe in the area of AI. This underlines our commitment to create high-skilled jobs in breakthrough technologies.”
AI is expected to shape the future of the B2B marketing landscape, with 80% of marketers predicting it will revolutionise the industry by 2020.
