IBM to invest 'hundreds of millions' in free data technology

IBM Corp. announced Monday it will invest “hundreds of millions a year” into free data analytics technology.

The project includes 20 recently hired employees at a new San Francisco-based technology center to develop a free analytics software project from the University of California-Berkeley called Spark. Company officials expect the center’s staff to number 300 over time.

IBM will also make SystemML, a research project that works alongside Spark with machine learning technology and help users spot patterns in data, free to use.

According to Bloomberg Business, the software has similarities with MLlib, another data analytics tool developed by Spark technicians at DataBricks Inc. A general manager with IBM’s analytics division said the two projects are not in competition due to differences in design.

Read more from Bloomberg Business.