Xerox has announced that it will donate its Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) to SRI International, a nonprofit research institute which is also based in California’s Silicon Valley.
The company said the move will enable Xerox 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.
“Our clients are at the heart of everything we do,” said Steve Bandrowczak, chief executive officer at Xerox. “This decision allows both Xerox and PARC to focus on delivering innovations and solutions that align with their own strengths and capabilities. With this arrangement, PARC’s deep tech innovations will be sustained by SRI while allowing Xerox to simplify and optimize its operations and focus solutions on the continued evolution of hybrid work.”
David Parekh, the CEO of SRI International, said that “some of the world’s most defining innovations have been fueled by research from pioneering talent at both SRI International and PARC.”
He also said combining forces is “creating a fusion of innovation icons.”
Xerox PARC was founded in 1970, and became an independent company in 2002. The company noted it has pioneered numerous technological advancements, including Ethernet, laser printing and the graphical user interface.
A Xerox spokesperson said that PARC has 144 employees, and as part of this transaction, all of the U.S. employees at PARC are expected to transition to SRI.
As part of the donation of PARC, Xerox will enter into a preferred research agreement, in which SRI will provided research and development services to Xerox and its clients.
Xerox also said that the majority of patents held by PARC will be retained by Xerox with a perpetual license to use those patents being provided to SRI.
There were no financial details released about the value of the donation of PARC to SRI.
