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Google announces $7B investment in Iowa to expand cloud, AI infrastructure
Cedar Rapids data center, expansion in Council Bluffs, workforce development among the company’s planned investments
May. 30, 2025 2:10 pm, Updated: Jun. 2, 2025 7:45 am
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CEDAR RAPIDS — Google announced a $7 billion investment in Iowa to expand its cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure, more than doubling the $6.8 billion already invested in the state since 2007.
The planned investment includes a new $576 million Google data center currently under construction within the Big Cedar Industrial Center off Edgewood Road on the southwest side of Cedar Rapids, as well as expanding the company’s cloud and AI infrastructure in its Council Bluffs complex, and funding for workforce development programs.
Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Alphabet and Google, said the company’s added investment in Iowa will help the U.S. continue to lead the world in AI, unlocking substantial economic opportunity for American businesses.
“It's about advancing scientific breakthroughs. It's about fortifying cybersecurity, and very importantly ... it's about creating new jobs, new career opportunities for Americans and across the state,” Porat said at a press event Friday in southwest Cedar Rapids.
Google did not provide a breakdown of its planned $7 billion statewide investment when asked by reporters.
The company also announced $500,000 to integrate AI tools into training curriculum and boost the number of apprentices in Iowa. The initiative will train existing electrical workers and more than 700 apprentices in the state by 2030, increasing the projected pipeline of new electrical workers in Iowa, according to a press release.
Google has had operations in Iowa since breaking ground on its Council Bluffs data center in 2007. Since then, Google has invested more than $6.8 billion in Iowa and awarded more than $3 million to local schools and nonprofits, according to the company.
In 2024 alone, Porat said the company helped provide more than $2.1 billion of economic activity for tens of thousands of Iowa businesses, publishers, nonprofits, creators and developers that use Google's tools at no cost to make bookings, direct connections with customers and grow their businesses.
Hudson-based Hansen’s Dairy is one of the local businesses that’s empowered by Google technology. The family-run farm and growing retailer uses Google Workspace tools to stay on top of market fluctuations and adjust operations as needed, crafts marketing materials with the help of Gemini, and educates and connects with their customers through YouTube.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said Google’s investment in Cedar Rapids and other parts of the state reaffirms its role as an “AI pioneer.”
“These facilities are not just buildings and servers, they're engines of progress, fueling careers, communities and a shared future,” Gov. Kim Reynolds said at Friday’s press event.
“This additional investment isn't just a corporate decision, it's a powerful endorsement of our state, of our communities and our potential,” Reynolds said. “It's a catalyst for prosperity and Iowa's future,” supporting high-quality jobs, fortifying the country’s digital infrastructure and retaining “the ingenuity that drives global progress.”
“AI is transforming industries, reshaping economies and unlocking new frontiers of knowledge and productivity,” Reynolds said. “And thanks to Google's commitment here in Cedar Rapids and our state, we will play a key role in delivering technology to the world.”
Iowa Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, of Marion, called Friday’s announcement “a powerful statement about Iowa's role in the future of technology, creating tremendous opportunities and good-paying jobs for our communities.”
“Investments like this are a testament to our workforce here in Iowa,” Hinson said. “It's a dedicated, talented, skilled workforce right in our community. These people are contributing to our economy every single day, and the hard work, ingenuity and commitment of our people are why companies like Google choose to invest and expand here.”
Google in CR will employ 1,200 in construction, 100 in operations
Google said it has created jobs across Iowa in a variety of full-time and external supplier roles, including computer technicians, engineers and various food service, maintenance and security roles.
Allie Hopkins, Iowa Server Operations Area Lead for Data Centers at Google, said the Cedar Rapids data center is expected to employ more than 1,200 construction workers and about 100 operational employees.
Hopkins said Google is planning to construct four buildings on the site, and that construction will be underway for the next several years. She said the building currently under construction will likely be completed in 2026.
“You can count on multiple years of needing construction employees to make this happen,” Hopkins said.
Google announced it also is partnering with the Iowa Department of Education to offer Googler Career Certificates and AI Essentials to students and faculty at Iowa’s K-12 schools and 15 community colleges, at no cost.
The partnership will help increase workforce readiness for Iowans across the state and help faculty master the latest AI skills and tools, the company said.
Stable energy grid, tax incentives draw data centers to Iowa
The rapid development of artificial intelligence, combined with high demand for cloud services, has led to a surge in data center construction throughout North America, according to CBRE Group, Inc., a Dallas-based commercial real estate services and investment firm.
Tech companies have been lured to Iowa — with Microsoft, Meta and Apple joining Google in building data centers in the state — with its affordable, ample and environmentally friendly wind energy, a stable grid, access to high-speed fiber-optic connections, low construction costs and tax incentives.
The Google data center in Cedar Rapids would be among the city’s largest water and energy users. And other Iowa cities with data centers are drawing more water from aquifers and rivers to meet demand, The Gazette previously reported.
But Google and Cedar Rapids officials say the city has ample capacity to support the company's first data center and more.
“Google's commitment to sustainability by pairing its data center operations with renewable energy investments is a testament to what responsible innovation looks like,” Reynolds said. “As a world leader in renewable energy, Iowa's abundant wind resources and Google's clean energy goals perfectly aligned to shape a sustainable, beautiful future.”
Reynolds also touted Republican-led tax cuts, streamlined regulations and workforce initiatives as creating a business climate that attracts world-class companies and major investments.
Cedar Rapids also will see second, $750M data center project
The Iowa Economic Development Authority board last year signed off on the city’s use of $56 million in tax abatements to support the internet giant’s new $576 million data center in Cedar Rapids.
As part of that agreement, the project will create at least 31 jobs paying at least $31.44 per hour.
Under the deal, Google will receive a 20-year, 70 percent tax exemption so long as it meets employment thresholds. The tax break would start once the first data center is complete.
The project is the first development in the Big Cedar Industrial Center, established by Alliant Energy in 2016 as Iowa’s largest industrial site, which includes an 890-acre parcel designated as the state’s only certified Mega-Site.
Cedar Rapids officials also signed off on another development agreement in January for a $750 million QTS data center near Google's facility.
The QTS data center project, with a minimum investment of $750 million, will surpass the Google project as the largest economic development investment in the city’s history.
“It really honors our past,” Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell said. “We've long been a city of builders, makers, dreamers — a city where innovation and industry run deep, from Quaker Oats here in town to ... Collins Aerospace. We've always understood the power and the imperative of vision paired with action, and now Google is a part of that proud tradition. This is a moment of something bigger here in Cedar Rapids.”
Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com
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