Xerox donates PARC research facility to SRI International

Bandrowczak: "Xerox will forever be proud of PARC’s role in our history"
Bandrowczak: "Xerox will forever be proud of PARC’s role in our history"

Xerox is donating its Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) to non-profit research institute SRI International.

The manufacturer said the move would enable it “to focus entirely on delivering new innovations around its own print, digital and IT service offerings, while allowing the PARC team to join a leading research institution to usher in its next evolution of growth”.

Xerox PARC was founded in 1970 and was established as an independent company in 2002. Xerox said the organisation “has pioneered numerous technological advancements”, including Ethernet, laser printing, the graphical user interface, and ubiquitous computing.

“Our clients are at the heart of everything we do. This decision allows both Xerox and PARC to focus on delivering innovations and solutions that align with their own strengths and capabilities,” said Xerox CEO Steve Bandrowczak.

“With this arrangement, PARC’s deep tech innovations will be sustained by SRI while allowing Xerox to simplify and optimise its operations and focus solutions on the continued evolution of hybrid work.”

David Parekh, CEO of SRI International, added: “SRI International and PARC can be credited with developing many of the world’s most defining innovations through the last decades.

“We are thrilled to welcome PARC’s world-class talent to our team and launch a new chapter together delivering breakthrough technology to the world, and to continue collaborating with Xerox in the future.”

As part of the donation, Xerox will enter into a preferred research agreement, called the Technology Exploration and Innovation Program, in which SRI will provide contracted research and development services to Xerox and its clients.

Through the collaborative initiative, Xerox and SRI will identify topic areas relevant to Xerox’s print, digital and IT services business, with the final goal of creating proofs-of-concept and roadmaps to implementation.

Xerox will also retain a branded Innovation Hub at PARC to host meetings, demonstrations, and annual conferences for its clients.

“For more than half a century, PARC and its employees have been at the forefront of some of the world’s most important technological developments,” Bandrowczak said.

“Xerox will forever be proud of PARC’s role in our history and its continued innovation that solves the world’s most pressing challenges.”

Xerox said the donation of PARC does not change its guidance for the year.