Philips plans to move the headquarters of its Philips North America business to a new site being developed in Cambridge, MA, from its current location 25 miles away in Andover, MA.
Philips North America is moving into a facility being built at the Cambridge Crossing development, a 45-acre, mixed-use site shared by the cities of Cambridge, Somerville, and Boston. Philips' offices will occupy 243,000 sq ft of the 250 North St. building, which is under construction and straddles the Cambridge and Somerville city line. More than 2,000 Philips employees will be located at the building, which is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2020.
An artist's rendering of the new Philips headquarters at Cambridge Crossing. Image courtesy of Philips.The move will expand the presence Philips has had in Cambridge since 2015, when the company moved its Philips Research Americas headquarters from Westchester, NY, to Cambridge to tap the deep pool of talent available in the Boston metropolitan area, according to Dr. Joe Frassica, chief medical officer and head of research for Philips North America. That facility, at Canal Park, is across the street from Cambridge Crossing.
"We have had major collaborations with clinical partners" since the move, Frassica told AuntMinnie.com. "That positive experience and impact on our research program was evidence to us that Cambridge and Boston are the epicenter of healthcare innovation in the U.S., and we are compelled to be even more a part of it."
In particular, Philips wants to take advantage of growing research in artificial intelligence (AI) in the Cambridge area and put it to work throughout the company's product lines, including products in radiology and clinical informatics that are sold by its Philips Healthcare business. The company spends 6% of its revenue on R&D, and 60% of that is software, Frassica noted.
Most of the employees housed at Cambridge Crossing will come from the Andover facility. The company's ultrasound manufacturing business will remain at Andover, with some 300 employees remaining.
