Foxconn Technology Group plans to have 125 employees in downtown Racine as part of a fourth innovation center the company is planning in Wisconsin.
The company on Tuesday announced its plans to purchase the 46,000-square-foot One Main Centre building, located at 1 Main St. near the convergence of the Root River and Lake Michigan.
The building will be renamed as Foxconn Place Racine and will be home to the Wisconn Valley Innovation Center. It is one of four innovation centers Foxconn has announced around the state. The others are located in Green Bay, Eau Claire and at the company’s North American headquarters in Milwaukee.
Foxconn says the building will also include a state-of-the-art co-working space and be a model for smart city pilot programs.
“Foxconn looks forward to working with the local government, academic institutions and businesses who share in our goal to see Racine transform into a technologically sophisticated environment that is at the cutting-edge of innovative solutions never before made in North America. This will contribute to our commitment to help position Wisconsin as a global hub for high-tech talent and businesses,” said Alan Yeung, Foxconn director of U.S. strategic initiatives.
The Racine innovation center will place an emphasis on collaborations between businesses and higher education. Foxconn is currently sponsoring Smart City, Smart Future competitions over the next three years with $1 million in prizes for those connected to higher education in Wisconsin.
“We believe that Foxconn’s AI 8K+5G technologies will catalyze and inspire next-generation ideas in enhancing quality of life, living spaces and working environments,” Yeung said. “We invite the community, through public-private partnerships, to join and partner with Foxconn to strengthen public safety, public infrastructure, transportation networks and energy sustainability.”
