Google will invest nearly $ 1 billion in Australia’s digital infrastructure

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SYDNEY Alphabet Inc.s Google said it will invest AU $ 1 billion ($ 730 million) over five years in Australian infrastructure, research and partnerships, which would be the company’s single largest investment in the country.

Alphabet GOOGL, -0.15% GOOG, -0.17% and Google CEO Sundar Pichai said the investment will help develop Australia’s digital infrastructure, with a focus on cloud computing. He also said it will include the launch of Google’s first research center in Australia and a partnership with the Australian National Science Agency.

Google said an economic analysis showed the investment will support more than 6,000 new direct jobs across Australia.

Australia can help lead the world’s next wave of innovation by harnessing technology to improve lives, create jobs and advance, Pichai said, adding that the investment will bring the benefits of technology to more Australians.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who spoke at an event on the occasion of the announcement, said Google’s investment is a vote of confidence in Australia’s economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Its center-right government earlier this year released a digital economy strategy that outlined plans to develop Australia into a leading digital economy by 2030.

Google first created a presence in Australia in 2002, and its popular Google Maps platform was developed in the country. But relations between the big US tech companies and the Australian government had been strained recently. Earlier this year, Australian lawmakers passed a law that effectively requires large tech companies, including Google and Meta Platforms Inc.s FB, + 1.96% of Facebook, to pay news publishers for contents.

But on Tuesday Morrison, who is expected to face elections next year, said Google has been a productive partner on various issues, such as online security, extremist content management, and media competition.

We sat down, worked on them and I think we got the right result for both Australian citizens and the technological future we both want to embrace, Morrison said. The fact that Google has decided to invest in the way it has, I believe, seals this partnership.

Ties between the United States and Australia have deepened in recent months, with the United States agreeing to help develop nuclear submarine capability for Australia as part of a three-way security partnership for Australia. Indo-Pacific which also includes the United Kingdom.

Mike Goldman, the appointee of the US embassy in the Australian capital Canberra, said at the event on Tuesday that the deepest ties involve sharing technology in general, with a focus not just on defense but on technologies such as quantum computing and artificial intelligence which is also applicable to economic growth and prosperity.

We were proud to be Australian partners and were proud to learn from Australia, he said. It is not just a one way transfer. We were getting as much from our partnership with Australia as we were giving.

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