Ford is preparing to open a Research & Development center in Silicon Valley, with the site set to be the Blue Oval’s first R&D location on the West Coast. The site will be based on the San Francisco Bay area and will be used for independent tech project, as well as for establishing new business partners that are also located on the West Coast.
Ford wants its R&D center to come us with developments connected to personal urban mobility, as well as open-source projects that allow for the creation of cloud-based services and applications.
“Silicon Valley represents a deep and dynamic technology neighborhood and is far from Dearborn”, said K. Venkatesh Prasad, Ford's senior technical leader for open innovation. “With so many opportunities and so much potential, our new lab will allow us to scout new technologies and partners in their own environment and continue our expansion beyond the traditional automaker mindset.”
The site is part of a greater plan, which will see Ford connecting it with its Advanced Design Studio in California and with Microsoft ‘s Redmont, Washington center.
“Silicon Valley represents a deep and dynamic technology neighborhood and is far from Dearborn”, said K. Venkatesh Prasad, Ford's senior technical leader for open innovation. “With so many opportunities and so much potential, our new lab will allow us to scout new technologies and partners in their own environment and continue our expansion beyond the traditional automaker mindset.”
The site is part of a greater plan, which will see Ford connecting it with its Advanced Design Studio in California and with Microsoft ‘s Redmont, Washington center.