A dedicated AI hub has opened in the Royal Liver Building.
Kyndryl launched its new facility on Thursday just three months after Sir Keir Starmer confirmed the company would create up to 1,000 jobs in the Liverpool City Region.
The American infrastructure service will welcome customers from the UK and beyond and offers advisory and co-creation services led by Kyndryl Consult.
Having undergone significant renovations to provide state-of-the-art amenities and facilities, employees working out of the new Kyndryl AI Innovation Lab Liverpool will benefit from a coffee shop, cafe, showers, bike park, a range of health and wellbeing classes with access to on-site gym and fitness studio.
The building is powered by energy, from wind, solar and hydro sources. It has won multiple Green Apple Environmental awards, is ISO 22301 certified, and has a rooftop beehive producing honey since 2022.
At the new lab, Kyndryl professionals will advise businesses in adopting and implementing AI, emerging technologies and software and platform engineering solutions.
It will include a Kyndryl Vital Studio, led by Kyndryl Consult, allowing customers to tackle complex and real-world business challenges through designer-led, open collaboration and co-creation.
As part of the new hub opening, Kyndryl is expanding its partnership with The Very Group, the Liverpool-based operator of digital retailers Very and Littlewoods, through a new multiyear agreement designed to enhance and accelerate the retailer’s end-to-end digital capabilities.
Kyndryl will provide comprehensive software and platform engineering support, helping The Very Group launch new products at speed and enhance the digital customer experience.
John Chambers, president of Kyndryl United Kingdom & Ireland, said: “We are exceptionally proud to invest in the Liverpool City Region by opening the Kyndryl AI Innovation Lab Liverpool that champions collaboration, creative excellence and digital curiosity.
“Choosing the Royal Liver Building was a proactive decision to celebrate the city’s rich heritage, while aligning with our sustainability goals of achieving Net Zero emissions by 2040.”
“With businesses eager to develop AI capabilities, our new Kyndryl AI Innovation Lab Liverpool represents a significant step in addressing the AI skills gap,”
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, added: “The Royal Liver Building has stood as a symbol of our region’s ambition and identity for over a century.
“So it’s fitting that it is to become home to a project that’s looking firmly to the future.
“Kyndryl’s new AI Innovation Lab is a major investment in our region and a massive show of confidence in the talent we have here.
“It will bring with up to 1,000 quality jobs, apprenticeships and training opportunities for local people – helping to put our residents at the heart of one of the fastest growing sectors in the world.
“I want the Liverpool City Region to be a leader in artificial intelligence – but the kind that makes a difference to people’s lives. AI that’s ethical, inclusive, and used for good.
“With the skills, the infrastructure and the political will we’ve built, I believe we’re in the perfect place to make that happen.”