Google to Invest $40 Billion in Three New Texas Data Centers

Google plans to invest $40 billion to build three new data centers in Texas, marking one of its largest U.S. infrastructure expansions. The project is expected to boost the company’s cloud and AI computing capacity while creating thousands of construction and long-term jobs. State and local officials say the investment underscores Texas’s growing role as a national hub for data-center development and high-tech investment.

Texas is cementing its status as a national hub for data-center development as companies flock to the state’s abundant land, comparatively low energy costs, and welcoming regulatory environment. Alphabet Inc.’s Google announced plans to invest $40 billion through 2027 to build three new Texas data centers an aggressive expansion aimed at boosting the company’s rapidly growing artificial-intelligence computing capacity amid intensifying competition from OpenAI, Anthropic, and other tech heavyweights.

Google said one of the new facilities will be located in Armstrong County in the Texas Panhandle, while two more will rise in Haskell County near Abilene. One of the Haskell sites will sit alongside a new solar-and-battery storage project, part of Google’s effort to reduce its strain on the state’s electric 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 CEO Sundar Pichai said at an event outside Dallas, where the company already operates two data centers.

Texas leaders have eagerly welcomed the tech buildout. “Texas will be the centerpiece for AI data centers for Google,” Gov. Greg Abbott said at the announcement. “They can operate here knowing that Texas moves at the speed of business.”

Google emphasized that its expansion includes commitments to add new energy resources to the grid, cover grid-related operating costs, and support local efficiency programs. The company also plans to boost the pipeline of skilled electrical workers through a training initiative funded by Google.org’s AI Opportunity Fund.

Texas continues to draw multibillion-dollar data-center commitments from across the tech sector. AnthropIc recently announced a $50 billion U.S. investment plan that includes Texas, while Stargate the massive computing venture backed by OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank has begun building its first facility in Abilene. Meta is constructing a gigawatt-scale data center in the state, and Microsoft has signed a nearly $10 billion, five-year deal for local computing capacity. Fermi Inc., a real-estate investment trust co-founded by former Gov. Rick Perry, is planning four nuclear reactors to power a private data-center campus.

The surge in construction has also raised concerns among investors that spending could outpace revenue from AI services. Even so, Google’s appetite for infrastructure shows no signs of slowing. The company is expected to spend more than $90 billion on capital projects this year, largely on servers, custom AI chips, and new data centers.

In recent months, Google has unveiled a $15 billion AI hub in southern India, pledged $6.4 billion in Germany, and committed $6.5 billion to expand its UK operations evidence of its global strategy to scale AI computing beyond its core advertising business and meet investor expectations for returns on its massive infrastructure bets.

Alphabet shares rose 1.7% in extended trading Friday, closing earlier at $276.41 in New York.

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Source: Business Standard‍