BY LINCOLN ANDERSON | IBM unveiled its Watson supercomputing system, in its new group headquarters at 51 Astor Place, on Tuesday.
The corporate giant has leased 120,000 square feet on 13 floors in the gleaming, freshly constructed building, which was built on a Cooper Union-owned site. IBM hopes the spot will now become the epicenter of New York’s growing “Silicon Alley.”
According to IBM, Watson — fueled by $1 billion from investors — will become “a powerful tool for New York City startups and businesses,” from healthcare to retail.
Currently, 3,330 startups are co-creating Watson apps at the Astor Place location, where 600 IBM employees are now working.
Years ago, Watson was the size of an entire room, but today is just the size of three pizza boxes. With scarily human-like thinking, Watson can “learn” any industry and help businesses make better decisions. For example, the supercomputer can analyze language to pinpoint the most effective sales pitch for a given target audience.
Watson hopes to synergize with the talent of scholars and students at N.Y.U., Cooper Union and Columbia and the city’s fast-expanding tech startup community.
