GOOGLE ANNOUNCES PLANS TO INVEST $50M IN TEXAS THIS YEAR

Company Shares US Job Creation and Site Investment Plans for 2021

TEXAS —  On Thursday, March 18, Google announced plans to invest $50M in Texas office and data center sites in 2021. Nationally, Google plans to invest more than $7 billion and create at least 10,000 new full-time Google jobs across the United States this year.

“I believe a lasting economic recovery will come from local communities, and the people and small businesses that give them life,” said Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google and Alphabet. “Google wants to be a part of that recovery. That’s why we plan to invest over $7 billion in offices and data centers across the U.S. and create at least 10,000 new full-time Google jobs in the U.S. this year.”

Google has called Texas home for more than a decade with offices in Austin and Houston, a data center in Midlothian, and more than 1,700 full-time employees in Texas.

• Houston: This year, Houston is included in Google’s annual Investing in America announcement for the first time. In May 2021, Google expects to complete construction on its first office in Houston, where the company will be occupying one floor totaling 11,000 square feet in the One Buffalo Heights building. Located at 3663 Washington Ave, this office will be home to Google Cloud’s Sales team.

• Midlothian: The first phase of Google’s recent data center in Midlothian is now operational. Since officially breaking ground in 2019, the Midlothian data center has created hundreds of construction jobs and will support a range of full-time Google and external supplier careers, with potential for future follow-on expansions. The Midlothian facility—representing a $600M capital infrastructure in the area—will help to create new opportunities for supply chain partners and local businesses, who benefit from having large-scale data centers in the community.

• Austin: Google maintains an office presence in Austin with over 550,000 SF in 100 Congress Ave, 901 East 5th St and 500 W 2nd St. Plans are proceeding to open a new office in downtown Austin in the Block 185 development currently under construction, located at 601 W 2nd St. Google will lease the entire building totaling approximately 750,000 square feet that is expected to open in 2023.

“We are excited to see Google expand its presence in Texas and here in Houston,” said Bob Harvey, president and CEO of Greater Houston Partnership. “Google is working closely with Houston companies in energy and healthcare to ensure successful digital transformation in these core industries. At the same time, the company is collaborating with emerging energy 2.0 companies to help usher in the energy transition to a low-carbon future. We believe the future holds more partnership opportunities for Google and the Houston region.”

Google also released their 2020 Economic Impact Report today, sharing how 162,400 businesses, publishers, and nonprofits in Texas used Google products last year to increase their online presence and connect with the people and communities they serve — generating $26.45 billion in economic activity in 2020.

Reina Rebelde in Dallas was highlighted in Google’s nationwide Economic Impact Report in a case study that details how they used digital tools to increase their online presence and reach customers. As a Latina makeup brand that is authentic and deeply rooted in cultural tradition, founder Regina Merson has used digital tools like Google Ads to reach shoppers wherever they are, and Google Workspace solutions like Gmail and Google Meet help make sure her distributed business always stays connected and engaged with customers since the beginning. Today, 40% of Reina Rebelde’s revenue comes from Google Ads.

“As a digital-first business, Google makes it so seamless and easy to communicate and manage our workflows,” Merson said. “Being a digital-first business, Google has allowed us to quickly pivot and stay flexible at a time when that’s more important than ever.”

Reina Rebelde is one of many American businesses that used the internet to adapt to new challenges last year. In fact, utilizing Google products was valuable in helping the company  fund several initiatives after COVID-19 hit to support Latino workers driving front-line industries like healthcare, hospitality and retail. A poll conducted by the Connected Commerce Council on February 12-26 2021, found that:

• 80% of Texas small businesses increased their use of digital tools during the COVID-19 crisis;

• 90% of Texas SMBs will continue to use digital tools at the same or a higher rate than during COVID-19

• Texas SMBs increased their digital tool use on average by 3x (from 7.3 to 23.7);

• 77% of Texas businesses feel digital tools are either important or essential in operating their business.

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KOF QUOTES

TX Rep Jim Murphy, GOP Caucus Chair

“Google’s expansion in Houston is great news for our community. Houston’s innovation leadership in energy, healthcare, and technology makes Google a perfect partner to lead our digital transformation to a stronger future.”

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner

“Google’s plans to invest in Houston for the long-term is recognition of the city’s potential and a testament to the talent that already exists. The completion of Google’s new office in the nation’s fourth-largest city is a huge milestone in laying the groundwork to make Houston home for the digital universe. The tech leader will be an economic boon to the city and bring us closer to becoming Silicon Bayou.”

Bill McKeon, Texas Medical Center CEO

“Houston is home to the largest medical city in the world – a place where health providers, academics and industry work together to advance leading-edge technologies, health therapies and devices. As part of our commitment to innovation, Texas Medical Center is partnering with Google leadership across the organization on a number of initiatives that maximize both the health data sets and intellectual capital located at TMC. We look forward to the opportunity to build upon this foundation to foster new initiatives that leverage Google’s advanced data technologies.”

Community Hospital Corporation

“Community Hospital Corporation is digitally transforming hospitals around the state from Tyler and Huntsville to Abilene and Midland with the help of Google’s platforms. We’re thrilled to see Google’s commitment to Texas long-term. Together, we’re increasing rural Texans’ access to healthcare now and into the future.”

About Google in Texas

For years, Google has supported digital skilling programs that can help sustain small businesses and help people secure fast-growing, good-paying jobs. In 2020, Google provided $26.45B of economic activity provided for 162,400 Texas businesses, nonprofits, publishers, creators and developers. With so many U.S. workers displaced by the COVID-19 pandemic, these solutions continue to be even more critical to economic recovery. Technology creates growth opportunities for American businesses and can help American workers develop the skills they need to succeed in the digital economy. Google has also supported trusted community institutions through partnerships across the state to bring digital skills training, grant funding and other resources and services to more Texans, including those historically underserved.

About Google’s Economic Impact Report

The Economic Impact Report details Google’s national and local impact in all 50 U.S. states, plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. It has been released annually for the last 12 years. In 2020, Google Search, Google Play, YouTube, and Google advertising tools helped provide $426  billion of economic activity for more than 2 million American businesses, nonprofits, publishers, creators and developers.