DURHAM – Internet giant Google will create a cloud-based engineering center that will eventually create 1,000 jobs, the company announced early Thursday.
“Today is an exciting day for Google Cloud in North Carolina. We help businesses and organizations to transform digitally, and to meet this challenge, we need the most talented team possible, and the Triangle Region has some of the best and brightest engineers in the world, “said Marian Croak, Vice President of Engineering for Google, said in the announcement. “We look forward to working closely with the local community as we expand our presence on this new engineering.”
According to a company spokesperson, the center in the Durham Center will be built through a subletting of the Duke University space at 200 W. Morris Street in the Durham Innovation District. The company is evaluating ‘several locations for the ultimate permanent home’, the company added.
The North Carolina news is part of a $ 7 billion plan to invest in the growth of its U.S. operations.
‘I believe that a lasting economic recovery will come from local communities and people and small businesses that give them life. Google wants to be part of the recovery, ”said Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, and his corporate parent, Alphabet. “That’s why we plan to invest more than $ 7 billion in offices and data centers in the U.S. and create at least 10,000 new full-time Google jobs in the U.S. this year.”
Google has a long-standing investment in North Carolina that is 16 years old, with one of its data centers in western NC. The new company will nearly double the current number of employees in the state.
For years, it has also held a software development office in Chapel Hill.
And its high-speed Google Fiber Internet network has significant operations, as well as offices in the Triangle as well as Charlotte.
Already in Durham, Google is working with the American Underground (owned by WRAL News and WRAL TechWire parent Capitol Broadcasting) as one of its startup-oriented hubs.
Why Durham?
Cloud computing is one of the fastest growing sectors of the internet economy, with Google among the key players. Participants include IBM and Raleigh-based Red Hat, as well as Microsoft and Amazon Web Services.
Google said Durham was being selected for the new center, which will join four others in the U.S., in part because of “the region’s diverse world-class talent to support the growing demand for its products and enterprise solutions.”
In the announcement, Governor Roy Cooper said:
‘It’s good to welcome Google Cloud to North Carolina, where I know they will find a talented workforce and an excellent quality of life. When I visited Google’s leadership in 2018 in their Silicon Valley office, it was clear to me that our state was perfect for their expansions, and we look forward to this center helping to define the future of Cloud Computing. ”
Lilyn Hester, Head of External Affairs, Public Policy and Government Relations – Southeast, Google
‘I’ve been calling Durham home for decades and have long shared with my colleagues that there is something very special about this corner of the world that needs to be looked at more closely. Google’s growth in the triangle is a true expression of a shared commitment to innovation and community. ”