Google set to pump in $1 billion for its New York City campus

It seems that Silicon Valley in California is growing increasingly insufficient for large tech corporations that are looking to expand their footprint. Some of the largest players in technology, namely Amazon, Apple and now Google are committing massive sums of money in an effort to expand their operations in the United States. Google has announced an astounding $1 billion in leases and acquisitions to expand its existing New York operations. The search engine giant already employs 7000 individuals in the Big Apple working on a wide range of applications that includes sales, cloud, YouTube, maps and so on. The $1 billion investment will dramatically increase the company’s presence in New York City.

This could be an emerging trend among large corporations who want to grow out of Silicon Valley. When Amazon announced its intention to hunt for a new city for its second headquarters, several major cities were locked in a tight race to get the Seattle based e-commerce behemoth to come to them. The cities offered numerous incentives to lure Amazon, some of which included handsome budget allocations, jaw-dropping tax-cuts, and many others. Google, however, is taking a different route. The search engine giant has donated over $150 million to various non-profit organizations and plans to provide free wifi to public schools and libraries and support other social initiatives. This hearts and minds campaign seems to have won over the residents.

However, some of the long-time residents remain skeptical of Google’s expansion, citing regards for the rapid transformation of a city’s cultural landscape that follows the coming of a cosmopolitan industrial titan like Google.