Amazon has a mission with a vision even grander than one-day shipping.
Earlier this year Amazon unveiled Project Kuiper, which aims to bring high-speed internet connectivity to underserved communities around the world by launching satellites into low Earth orbit. Months later, Amazon is giving us an idea of just how big this project is.
Amazon announced that the Project Kuiper team has outgrown its current space and is planning to lease a new long-term headquarters in Redmond, Washington. The new headquarters is 219,000 square feet and will be the primary home for PK’s research and development team, as well as its prototype manufacturing and qualification facility.
The space is currently under renovation. It will have offices, design space, R&D labs and manufacturing facilities. Project Kuiper employees will move into the headquarters in 2020.
Amazon joins a handful of other tech ventures trying to bring internet access to underserved parts of the world. SpaceX is also using satellites to broadcast high-speed internet with its Starlink project. Facebook has its own project codenamed Athena. There’s OneWeb, which is backed by SoftBank. And the list goes on.
Amazon says Project Kuiper has made “great strides.” The company has submitted filings with the ITU and FCC, and is currently hiring for over 100 roles. Amazon says that it’ll have even more exciting news to announce in the future.
