Amazon to build robotics innovation hub in Massachusetts

Online retail giant Amazon.com plans to build a state-of-the-art Amazon Robotics innovation hub in Westborough, Mass., the company said Wednesday. The facility will join Amazon Robotics' North Reading, Mass., facility to form the company's "epicenter of robotics innovation," Amazon officials said.

The e-commerce giant said it will invest more than $40 million in the facility to grow its robotics engineering, manufacturing, support, and test teams in Massachusetts. The 350,000 square-foot building will include corporate offices, research and development labs, and manufacturing space, and will create more than 200 technology and advanced manufacturing jobs. It is slated to open in 2021.

"This will be a world-class facility, where our teams can design, build, program, and ship our robots, all under the same roof," Tye Brady, Amazon Robotics' chief technologist, said in a statement announcing the investment. "This expansion will allow us to continue to innovate quickly and improve delivery speed for customers around the world."

The announcement follows the firm's release of two new fulfillment robots earlier this year. The Xanthus and Pegasus warehouse robots were designed to improve safety and efficiency at Amazon's global warehouses and fulfillment centers.