Amazon is about halfway into its plan to bring 4,500 technology and corporate employees to its “Boston Tech Hub” in the Seaport District.
With much fanfare on Friday, company leaders, state officials, and developer WS Development held a ribbon-cutting ceremony outside the office, where Amazon employs 2,000 people. The 17-story building opened in phases starting in February.
Rohit Prasad, a senior vice president and head scientist for Amazon Alexa, said it is betting on Boston because of the city’s talent, diversity, and culture of building technology that “changes lives of everyone.”
“This is what makes Boston and Amazon such a great match,” he said during the event.
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Amazon employees in Seaport work on artificial intelligence technology, robotics engineering, and machine learning, roles that support Alexa, Amazon Pharmacy, Amazon Web Services, and Amazon Devices.
Amazon leases 430,000 square feet at its newly opened office on the corner of Congress Street and Boston Wharf Road, which was designed by the architectural firm Gensler. Another 630,000-square-foot office under construction across the street could hold 3,000 more employees.
Governor Charlie Baker and Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito spoke at the event, as did Jerome Smith, a top aide of former mayor Martin J. Walsh who now serves as Amazon’s head of community affairs. Yanni Tsipis, a senior vice president at WS Development, said Amazon’s Seaport expansion represents the “largest private sector job creation commitment” ever made in the city.
Anissa Gardizy can be reached at anissa.gardizy@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @anissagardizy8 and on Instagram @anissagardizy.journalism.