Google to Invest $40 Billion in New Data Centers in Texas
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Alphabet Inc.’s Google plans to invest $40 billion in three new Texas data centers, part of an effort to add artificial intelligence computing power in a state that’s also drawn multibillion investments from competitors such as OpenAI and Anthropic PBC.
The investment will be made through 2027, Google said in a statement Friday. One data center will be in Armstrong County, in the Texas panhandle, and two in Haskell County, a stretch of West Texas near Abilene. One of the Haskell facilities will be co-located with a new solar and battery energy storage plant designed to ease the impact on the power grid.
“This investment will create thousands of jobs, provide skills training to college students and electrical apprentices, and accelerate energy affordability initiatives throughout Texas,” Alphabet Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai said at an event near Dallas, where the company already has two data center locations.
Texas has become a magnet for data centers as companies chase relatively cheap energy, vast tracts of land, and a state eager to host the infrastructure that’s powering the artificial intelligence boom. In outlining its latest plans, Google emphasized its commitment to “bringing new energy resources onto the grid, paying for costs associated with its operations, and supporting community energy efficiency initiatives.”
The company also said an electrical-training program will boost the number of apprentices in Texas with funding from Google.org’s AI Opportunity Fund.
“Texas will be the centerpiece for AI data centers for Google,” Governor Greg Abbott said at the event with Pichai. “They can come here and operate here knowing that Texas moves at the speed of business.”
Alphabet shares rose 1.7% in extended trading after closing at $276.41 in New York.
Investment Plans
Texas has been gaining commitments from other companies as well. Earlier this week, Anthropic announced that it will invest $50 billion in data centers across the US, including in New York and Texas, which has an abundance of land and relatively cheap energy.