NEW YORK, U.S. – Forest City New York today announced that Ferrero International S.A., the Italian confectionary group and one of the world’s largest manufacturers of chocolates, will take space at The Bridge at Cornell Tech.
The Bridge is a first-of-its-kind building that will house an extraordinary mix of cutting-edge companies working alongside groundbreaking Cornell Tech academic teams: from recent Cornell Tech graduates striving to commercialize a new idea, to start-ups on the verge of explosive growth, and established companies developing leading-edge technologies and products.
At The Bridge, Ferrero’s Open Innovation Science divisionwill drive discovery, evaluation and integration plans of relevant external science, technology and entrepreneurial innovations.
Their strategic approach will be based on the identification of opportunity areas at the intersection of technology, macrotrends, and Ferrero business priorities.
Alongside Cornell University students, faculty, and other innovative companies at The Bridge, Ferrero will explore technologies and innovations that could improve Ferrero products and operations, deliver optimization of nutritional value, drive improvements to product protection and packaging, and identify biotech transformations.
“Technology has become integral to all industries, not just our tech sector,” said MaryAnne Gilmartin, President and CEO of Forest City New York.
“At The Bridge, we are closing the gap between academia and industry to drive new partnerships and accelerate new technologies and products to market. We are thrilled to welcome Ferrero to the building where they will be able to take advantage of working in close proximity to the talented students and cutting-edge researchers at Cornell Tech in our unique ecosystem of impact and innovation.”
“At Cornell Tech, we are creating digital pioneers who are sparking innovation across sectors, not just at what you would consider traditional tech companies,” said Cornell Tech Dean Dan Huttenlocher.
“We are happy to have Ferrero join the campus for a chance to collaborate with students and faculty and they develop new ideas and technologies in their field.”
“We are thrilled to join the community at The Bridge. With the opportunity to work with Cornell Tech and be among other companies committed to change and innovation, we will develop cutting-edge research and technologies that will have transformational effects on our products and business,” said Giovanni Battistini, Vice President, Open Innovation Science at Ferrero.
“The ramp up of the Singapore Innovation Center last June and the New York new location at Cornell are two key milestones in our strategic approach to Open Innovation,” said Aldo Uva, Chief Open Innovation Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Ferrero.
The Bridge at Cornell Tech offers the opportunity for a limited number of start-ups and established companies pushing the edge of digital technology to be on the Cornell Tech campus.
Forest City is selecting a diverse mix of startups and established companies from a variety of industries to create an ecosystem of companies focused on catalyzing innovation and the commercialization of new products and technologies, driving economic growth for New York.
At The Bridge, Ferrero will join:
- Pioneering tech and investment firm Two Sigma, where the company will open a new Collision Lab. Engineers from Two Sigma’s R&D team will tackle difficult challenges away from the company’s main campus and interact with innovative startup companies backed by Two Sigma Ventures, a division of Two Sigma. The Collision Lab will also serve as a tool for Two Sigma to retain and attract the best talent by providing unique access to Cornell Tech’s dynamic ecosystem of innovation. The Bridge will open on Roosevelt Island in September as part of the first phase of the Cornell Tech campus.
- Citigroup, which will tap into the expertise of Cornell Tech students and faculty to work closely on new capabilities and emerging technologies such as blockchain, machine learning and big data applications, biometric authentication, Internet of Things, and cyber security. The collaboration with Cornell Tech will provide faculty and students the opportunity to work with Citi in exploring real-world solutions for Citi’s clients and customers, through Product Challenges in Cornell Tech’s Product Studio class (also located at The Bridge) where student teams develop innovative new digital solutions working with companies and nonprofits.
The Bridge is the only building in New York City designed and built to leverage the resources of a cutting-edge research university, removing all barriers to collaboration and innovation with the world’s most cutting-edge companies. For more information, visitwww.thebridgeatcornelltech.com.
Ferrero will take 4,200 square feet at The Bridge. CBRE’s Mary Ann Tighe, Evan Haskell, David Caperna, Evan Fiddle, Sacha Zarba and Ross Zimbalist brokered the lease on behalf of Forest City New York, and Jacqueline Klinger and Ian Rice from SCG Retail represented Ferrero.
The Bridge will open in September at the Cornell Tech campus on Roosevelt Island, along with The Bloomberg Center – in honor of Emma and Georgina Bloomberg, the first academic building on campus, and The House, a residential building for graduate students, faculty and staff that will be the world’s largest Passive House.
