Seattle’s knack for attracting business has continued through 2018, and now another east coast company is stepping into the fray.
New York-based automated conversation company LivePerson just announced a big expansion to Seattle, with plans to create a North American Advanced Technology Center in South Lake Union. The 40,000-square-foot office will house engineering, design, machine learning and product management teams — and should open for business in the fall.
LivePerson Chief Technology Officer Alex Spinelli (pictured above) said the company hopes to take advantage of Seattle’s famously deep pool of tech workers.
“Seattle is home to some of the best tech talent,” he said in a statement, “which is why we chose to expand our U.S. footprint and build [the center] here.”
LivePerson’s cloud-based software platform, called LiveEngage, uses a range of technologies to move conversations between consumers and brands away from phone calls and onto instant messaging services. By enhancing messaging communications and eliminating calls as a point of contact, the company claims it can cut 48 percent of customer care costs.
The platform enables communication through a company’s own app or website, as well as Facebook, SMS and other channels. The company also helps facilitate collaboration between AI-powered bots and human support staff in dealing with consumer queries.
To head up the Seattle office, LivePerson has enlisted Joe Bradley as chief data scientist and Alan Gilchrest as senior vice president of core services and developer experience.
Seattle is home to some of the best tech talent.”
Bradley previously led data science for Nike’s brand and digital marketing functions in Portland, along with its AI-based website features. Before that, he was in Seattle leading machine learning, data science and analytics functions for Amazon Search.
Gilchrest previously led product and technology teams for Kindle, Alexa and Amazon’s retail and supply chain businesses. He also has experience with Target.com and Deloitte Consulting.
The North American Advanced Technology Center will be located at 221 Yale Avenue North — behind the city’s iconic flagship REI store.
LivePerson was founded in 1995, went public in 2000 and now employs teams in Australia, Japan, the Netherlands, Italy and France, along with multiple offices in Israel, Germany, the United Kingdom and United States. The company counts the likes of IBM, Microsoft, Intuit, Virgin Atlantic and Sky among its 18,000-odd customers.
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