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South Carolina lands $3.3 billion Alphabet investment, emerging as hub for powering AI innovation and creating 200 New Jobs

Alphabet, Google’s parent company, has announced a major expansion move in the US. To increase its footprint in the US, Alphabet has decided to invest a staggering $3.3 billion in South Carolina.

This investment is aimed at boosting two data centres already standing in South Carolina. These data centres are set to become an emerging hub of AI innovation amidst the growing popularity of generative AI.

This move is being considered strategic as it comes when Alphabet is in tough competition with other companies. The investment will work to enhance its infrastructure supporting the development of artificial intelligence (AI) applications.

According to a statement released by the South Carolina governor's office, it said, “Alphabet will establish two new data centre campuses in Dorchester County and expand its existing data centre campus in Berkeley County.”

Owing to this development, the new Dorchester County facilities, located on the Pine Hill Business Campus in Ridgeville, represent a $2 billion investment and will create 200 new operational jobs. Meanwhile, Alphabet will invest $1.3 billion in Berkeley County.

In this investment announcement, Alphabet and Google CEO, Sundar Pichai said, “We're proud to be investing in South Carolina and creating new opportunities for the community.”

This investment comes as another part of a bigger expansion plan in the works. As of July 2024, the company reported a capital expenditure of $13 billion in the June quarter and told investors that quarterly capital expenditure for the rest of 2024 would be at or above $12 billion.

The AI infrastructure is rapidly growing in the States and Google Alphabet is not alone in this competitive race. Amidst big investments from Alphabet, tech giant and Google's rival Microsoft has also invested in the AI arena.

Earlier this month, Microsoft announced a partnership with BlackRock and Abu Dhabi-backed investment firm MGX to launch a more than $30 billion fund to invest in AI infrastructure, including data centers and energy projects.

“The demand for AI computing is growing rapidly, and this investment will help us meet that demand," said Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, in a statement.

The expansion of data centers in South Carolina is expected to have a significant economic impact on the region. According to a study by the University of South Carolina, the data centre industry has generated over $1 billion in economic output in the state since 2010.

According to South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, “This investment by Alphabet will have a profound impact on our state's economy and workforce.”

He further added, "We're grateful for their commitment to South Carolina and look forward to seeing the positive effects of this investment."

This major investment is also expected to create new job opportunities in the South Carolina region.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in the data centre industry is projected to grow 13% from 2022 to 2032, faster than the average for all occupations.

As AI development takes centre stage in developing AI structure in countries, the demand for data centers and AI infrastructure is expected to grow.