Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has announced a $3.3bn investment to establish two new data centre campuses in South Carolina, the US.  

The move aims to expand the tech giant’s digital services infrastructure, mainly supporting products such as Google Search, Cloud, and Maps.  

The investment is expected to generate hundreds of new jobs across Dorchester and Berkeley counties. 

The new Dorchester County campuses will be located in the Pine Hill Business Campus in Ridgeville and Winding Woods Commerce Park in St. George.  

With a $2bn investment, these facilities are projected to create 200 new operational jobs.  

They are designed to meet the increasing demand for the company’s cloud services and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. 

In addition to the new sites, Google will invest an additional $1.3bn to expand its existing data centre campus in Berkeley County.  

The expansion of the Mount Holly Commerce Park in Moncks Corner will bolster job growth and enhance the company’s existing operations, which began in 2007 as Google’s first venture in South Carolina. 

Google global Cloud Supply Chain and Operations vice president Monique Picou said: “Today marks a significant milestone in Google’s collaboration with South Carolina. Our continued investment is a testament to the state’s exceptional workforce and thriving business environment.  

“Google data centres are the backbone of digital services that underpin our modern lives, along with tech innovation like AI. We’re grateful for the collaboration with leaders in the state to not only grow our digital infrastructure here but contribute to this thriving community.” 

Reuters reported that Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai emphasised the importance of such investments at a time when companies are heavily investing in AI application development infrastructure.  

In July 2024, Alphabet disclosed a capital expenditure of $13bn for the June quarter and indicated that its quarterly capital expenditure for the remainder of 2024 would be at or above $12bn. 

Other tech giants are also focusing on AI infrastructure. Microsoft recently announced a partnership with BlackRock and Abu Dhabi-backed investment firm MGX to launch a fund exceeding $30bn.  

This fund is dedicated to investing in AI infrastructure, including the construction of data centres and energy projects.