Philips establishes alliance with MIT

Philips has announced an alliance with MIT, for an initial term of five years and $25 million, that will ultimately support MIT research in the company's core areas of health care and lighting solutions technology, which will be conducted in collaboration with Philips Research. The new MIT-Philips alliance was formalized today with a signing ceremony attended by Global Head Henk van Houten of Philips Research, and MIT Provost Martin Schmidt and Associate Provost Karen Gleason. Some of the MIT researchers whose work will be supported by the new alliance also attended the signing. Philips, whose formal name is Royal Philips N.V., is headquartered in Amsterdam and has 108,000 employees in some 100 nations. Its two main divisions are devoted to health technology, where Philips has pioneered new models for innovating with hospital network partners, and lighting solutions, where Philips has lit some of the most iconic structures in the world, including the Empire State Building. In addition to today's agreement, the company's North American research headquarters will move to the Kendall Square area. The exact location was not announced, but the company has said that it is choosing the new location based on its concentration of startups and research labs - especially in the biomedical area - and for its proximity to MIT and - "Kendall Square produced more IPOs in biotech last year than all of Silicon Valley, and I am excited that Philips will be further enhancing this innovation ecosystem," Gleason says.