5G innovation lab opens to support AI development, edge computing, more

A virtual idea-sharing lab with global reach and backing from three U.S. tech giants has officially launched from Seattle.

The lab’s leaders are pledging to support innovators in various industries—including healthcare—who will have a hand in the rise of 5G technology.

Called the 5G Open Innovation Lab (5G OI Lab), the group announced its inaugural program May 19 with an end date of July 17. This will bring together startup founders and a cohort of up-and-running 5G companies, all focused on leveraging 5G technology to develop applications for AI, edge computing and other uses.  

The lab itself has as its founding partners Intel, NASA and T-Mobile. For the first project and then going forward, they and fellow lab leaders will look to pool engineering, platforms and other resources to help startups develop, test and bring to market 5G use cases, according to an announcement sent by the lab.

Jim Brisimitzis, general partner of the 5G OI Lab, says 5G technology has the potential to “enable enterprises to synthesize new knowledge, connect people and devices and, ultimately, change their business and how they engage their customers. The result will be a world more connected through intelligence and shared experiences.”

The lab describes itself as a “global ecosystem of developers, startups, enterprises, academia and government institutions working together” to “fuel the development of new 5G capabilities and market categories that will transform the way we work, live and play both now and in the future.”

To read the full announcement, which includes a list of startups that are out of stealth mode and participating in the inaugural project, click here.

Dave Pearson

Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.

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