Google to open 2 more data centers in central Ohio

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and representatives from Google announced Wednesday morning that two new data centers will be coming to central Ohio.

Mark Isakowitz, Google’s Vice President of Government Affairs & Public Policy in the United States and Canada, announced that fully functional data centers would be coming to Columbus and Lancaster.

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In total, there will now be three centers in central Ohio. There is currently one center running in New Albany.

“Data centers like these are critical to Google’s future investment in cloud and artificial intelligence (A.I.),” Isakowitz said. “Once completed, these campuses will continue to power not only A.I. innovations, but tools that you use every day like like search, like Gmail and like maps.”

The new centers will bring the company’s total investment into the state to over $2 billion.

Steve Stivers, president and CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, said that the announcement was “really positive news for the Ohio business community and for jobs in Ohio.”

DeWine said that the investment in Ohio and the new centers sends “a signal about where Ohio is going” and recognizes the people in the state.

“We have a lot of things going for us in the state of Ohio,” DeWine said.

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The announcement of the new centers also sends an “incredible message” to Ohio’s children, according to Congressman Troy Balderson (R-Zanesville).

“We don’t have to go to California or to the East Coast for high paying jobs and technology. Central Ohio offers the same, and better, opportunities for those technologies to be driven here,” Balderson said.

DeWine told the crowd at the Ohio Chamber of Commerce that the development will bring more jobs, like construction and contractor jobs, to Ohio.