Google plans $40 billion Texas data centre investment

Alphabet’s Google said on Friday it would invest $40 billion in three new data centers in Texas, as part of its push to expand capacity for artificial intelligence initiatives.

The investment, which will be made through 2027, underscores the intensifying competition among AI and cloud service providers to build infrastructure capable of supporting advanced AI models.

OpenAI, Microsoft, Meta Platforms and Amazon are among companies spending billions in new AI-focused data centers.

Google said one of the new data centers will be in Armstrong County, in the Texas Panhandle, and the other two in Haskell County, a stretch of West Texas near Abilene.

“This investment will create thousands of jobs, provide skills training to college students and electrical apprentices, and accelerate energy affordability initiatives throughout Texas,” Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said in a statement.

The company will also invest in its existing Midlothian campus and Dallas cloud region, part of its global network of 42 cloud regions.

“Google’s $40 billion investment makes Texas Google’s largest investment in any state in the country and supports energy efficiency and workforce development in our state,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott said in the same statement.

Tech companies have announced massive spending plans this year, with many focusing on expanding their US footprint, as President Donald Trump pushes for investments to maintain the country’s edge in the AI sector.

Earlier this week, Anthropic said it would invest $50 billion in data centers across the US, including New York and Texas.

Google on Tuesday announced it would invest 5.5 billion euros ($6.41 billion) in Germany in the coming years in a push to expand its infrastructure and data centre capacity in Europe’s largest economy.

The latest AI investment surge echoes past tech bubbles, with valuations and spending outpacing near-term returns, some analysts and investors have warned. They say demand projections may prove overly optimistic if AI adoption does not grow at a similar pace as capital expenditure.

adtech changes to avoid breakup: Google on Friday announced changes to its advertising services to avert the risk of a breakup, two months after Brussels hit the US giant with a massive fine.

The European Commission slapped a 2.95-billion-euro ($3.43 billion) antitrust fine on Google for favouring its own services in September, giving the company 60 days to resolve the issues raised.

The penalty drew an angry rebuke from US President Donald Trump, who threatened fresh tariffs on the EU if it was confirmed. Google has said it will appeal the fine.

“Our proposal fully addresses the decision without a disruptive break-up that would harm the thousands of European publishers and advertisers who use Google tools to grow their business,” a Google spokesperson said.

Despite agreeing to the adtech changes, Google said it still disagreed with the EU decision.

Brussels will now assess the commitments -- which come as the bloc treads a line between its determination to enforce its tech rules and its wariness of further provoking Trump.

The EU has set its sights on Google.

Only a day before Google’s announcement, the commission launched a new probe into the US company under its digital competition rules over suspicions it is unfairly pushing down certain news outlets in search rankings.

Google also faces scrutiny over its advertising services in the United States.

A US federal judge earlier this year decided against Google over its adtech practices. Google is also seeking to avoid a forced sale in that case in Virginia, and closing arguments are expected to take place on Wednesday.

The judge is set to make a decision in the following weeks or months.

When it announced the September fine, the commission said Google had unfairly used its dominant position in online advertising to favour its own services.

The online giant not only sells advertising on its own websites and apps, but also acts as an intermediary for firms wanting to place ads elsewhere to appear on mobile and computer screens -- which Brussels says made it harder for rivals to compete.

Google on Friday said its plan included immediate product changes such as giving publishers the option to set varying minimum prices for different bidders when using Google Ad Manager.

Agencies