Microsoft To Open Lab In Britain Proposed Facility Will Create A ‘Hothouse’ For New Ideas

Microsoft Research, the basic research unit of Microsoft Corp., confirmed Tuesday that it will invest $80 million in a laboratory in Cambridge.

The facility, to be known as Microsoft Research Ltd., will work with Cambridge University on basic research in computer science.

The company plans to hire 25 researchers in the first year.

“Our goal with this Cambridge-based research lab is to create a home for those world-class researchers based in Europe who want to develop innovative new technologies and have an impact on the lives of millions of people around the world,” said Nathan Myhrvold, Microsoft’s chief technology officer.

Microsoft said it will also invest $16 million in technology ventures, with an emphasis on Cambridge-area firms.

The company’s lab at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Wash., will continue to be the center of the company’s basic research efforts, the company said.

Roger Needham, professor of computer systems in the Cambridge Computer Laboratory and a vice-chancellor of the university, was appointed director of Microsoft’s new facility.

“We plan to take on the best computer researchers we can find but we won’t be recruiting to a specific research brief - what’s worth doing depends on the skills and interests of the people we can get,” said Needham.

“This will be a real hothouse environment.”