Amazon has announced that it will open a new global Digital Media Development Centre in London in the coming months. The design and development teams from Pushbutton and LOVEFiLM , which are both Amazon companies, will come together to work on new digital media projects that will benefit Amazon customers all over the world.
The eight-floor, 47,000 sq. ft. centre in Glasshouse Yard, near to the Barbican tube station, will house teams of software development engineers, user-interface experts and graphic designers who will focus on the creation of interactive digital services for TVs, game consoles, smartphones and PCs; the development of the digital media experience on Amazon websites around the world; and the building of services and APIs that power that digital media experience.
“London is a hotbed of tech talent and testament to that fact is Amazon choosing the capital as the location for the new global Digital Media Development Centre,” said Paula Byrne, Managing Director of the Centre in London. “Innovation is part of the Amazon DNA and we are creating a British centre of excellence to design and develop the next generation of TV and film services for a wide range of digital devices.”
Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: ‘I am thrilled to welcome Amazon’s fantastic new international digital centre to London. For this wildly successful and dynamic company to choose our city to site such an important facility is a splendid feather in our cap. We know we have the talent, the space and infrastructure to make the most of the digital economy – this will be my prime message during Games-time, as I seek to woo even more companies for the capital, delivering jobs and growth for Londoners. Amazon’s investment propels us well up the league table of global tech cities and we thank them for their vote of confidence.’
The team that will come together at the new Development Centre has previously worked on a variety of digital innovations including LOVEFiLM Instant, which offers members unlimited streaming from just £4.99 per month on over 280 Internet-enabled devices including PCs, PlayStation®3, iPad®, Xbox 360, plus a growing number of Blu-Ray players and Internet-connected TVs including Sony, Samsung, LG and Cello, as well as Amazon Instant Video and the LOVEFiLM iPad App.