Google is investing $13 billion in data centers and offices across the US this year, up from $9 billion in investments last year.
It will be the second year in a row Google grows faster outside its home in the San Francisco Bay Area than in it.
By the end of the year, Google will have a presence in 24 states. Investing in data centers is crucial to Google strengthening its position in the fast-growing cloud computing market.
Sundar Pichai said in an official blog post that the new investments will give Google the capacity to hire tends of thousands of employees, doubling its presence in states such as Georgia, and enable the creation more than 10,000 new construction jobs.
Today we’re announcing that Google will be investing $13 billion in offices and data centers in the US this year. With this new investment, we’ll now have a home in 24 total states, including data centers in 13 communities. https://t.co/IPZJNPXp5l
— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) February 13, 2019
“These new investments will give us the capacity to hire tens of thousands of employees, and enable the creation of more than 10,000 new construction jobs in Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, Texas, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Virginia,” Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in a blog post. “With this new investment, Google will now have a home in 24 total states, including data centers in 13 communities. 2019 marks the second year in a row we’ll be growing faster outside of the Bay Area than in it.”
“This growth will allow us to invest in the communities where we operate, while we improve the products and services that help billions of people and businesses globally,” Pichai added. “Our new data center investments, in particular, will enhance our ability to provide the fastest and most reliable services for all our users and customers.”
Google’s investment announcement comes as American tech companies face heightened pressure to invest more in US infrastructure and create new jobs.
A look at the investments Google is making state by state:
Midwest
“We’re continuing to expand our presence in Chicago and are developing new data centers in Ohio and Nebraska. The Wisconsin office is set to move into a larger space in the next few months—and last November we opened a Detroit office in Little Caesars Arena, where you can see into the space where the Detroit Red Wings play.”
South
“With new office and data center development, our workforce in Virginia will double. And with a new office in Georgia, our workforce will double there as well. Data centers in Oklahoma and South Carolina will expand, and we’re developing a new office and data center in Texas.”
Northeast
“Massachusetts has one of our largest sales and engineering communities outside of the Bay Area, and we’re building new office space there. In New York, the Google Hudson Square campus—a major product, engineering and business hub—will come to life over the next couple of years.”
West
“We’ll open our first data center in Nevada and will expand our Washington office, a key product and engineering hub. In addition to investments in the Bay Area, our investments in California continue with the redevelopment of the Westside Pavillion, and the Spruce Goose Hangar in the Los Angeles area.”
Pichai said that in addition to expanding its footprint in the US, Google will also make significant investments in renewable energy as part of its commitment to 100 percent renewable energy purchasing.