Google has said it plans to invest €5.5 billion into computing resources and operations in Germany over the next four years, joining a wave of spending pledges from technology companies in recent months.
The internet giant made the announcement on Tuesday in Berlin at an event with German federal ministers. The planned investment includes two data centers in the Frankfurt region, although Google didn’t specify the size of the facilities.
European countries are pushing to prioritise data centres, as leaders on the continent fear being left further behind on technology and artificial intelligence. The European Commission has called for companies to develop so-called gigafactories – data centres capable of training and maintaining complex AI models.
Last week, Nvidia and Deutsche Telekom announced plans to build a €1 billion data center in Munich, which is set to open in early 2026. Microsoft Corp. said earlier on Tuesday that it would devote $10 billion (€8.6 billion) to a data center hub in Portugal.
In a statement, Google described its German spending pledge as part of a “continued commitment to Europe.” For years, the company has had to fend off complaints and regulatory action in the region over privacy, antitrust and copyright concerns.
In September, Google announced plans to spend £5 billion (€5.68 billion) in the UK over the next two years. The German pledge includes the expansion of three Google offices.
Globally, Google parent Alphabet expects capital expenditure to be as high as $93 billion (€105 billion) in 2025.
Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Luc Frieden will meet with companies including Google this week during a visit to the United States.
On his agenda with Google is also the company’s Luxembourg data centre, which has been a decade in the making, with the tech company still not having made a binding commitment to develop its plans at the site in Bissen.
(With additional reporting by Kate Oglesby)