10/16/2007

Google’s first research and development center in Germany to be opened in Munich

Müller: “Bavaria offers ideal conditions for showcase company Google”

Google’s first development center in Germany is coming to Bavaria. The provider of the most-used search engine worldwide is combining the inauguration of its new branch office in Munich with more investments mainly involving engineering posts in the research and development sector and commercial positions. “We are proud of the commitment shown by one of the world’s most important IT firms to Bavaria”, commented Bavaria’s Economics Minister Müller. “By taking this decision, Google is demonstrating its keen eye for the best conditions and most highly qualified skilled workers.”

Up to now, the showcase company from Mountain View in California has had only one development office for the whole of Europe and that was in Zürich – in future a significant number of programmers will now be working in Munich on improving search functions and thinking up innovative products. At the opening ceremony in Munich, Nelson Mattos, Vice-President for Engineering, EMEA, at Google, said: “Munich is the home of many highly talented IT scientists and software engineers, which makes it an ideal site for us to develop innovations. We are constantly on the look-out for talented candidates, especially now for Google in Munich.” According to the company, Google intends to do justice to the importance of market potential here by also relocating its office facilities to downtown Munich: the company is moving from outside the city to the prime site in Marienhof.

Besides its sales potential, Munich also offers a large pool of highly qualified skilled workers. Google refers, for instance, to the computer scientists from Munich’s two LMU and TU universities, both of which were commended in the German Initiative of Excellence. For Economics Minister Müller, this confirms the innovative strength of the Bavarian universities: “Google’s high opinion of Bavaria as a research and knowledge-based center shows that we are on just the right track with our strategy of boosting high-technology and also the Cluster Initiative of the State Government.”

Founded in 1998, Google has since then developed into one of the world’s largest IT companies with a stock market value of over 150 billion dollars. By its own account, Google offers users access to an index of several billion websites. The company employs a staff of close on 14,000 worldwide, including some 2,500 in Europe. Bavaria and California are united by a long tradition of close economic relations. Of the roughly 750 US companies actively operating in Bavaria, around 200 come from California. The Bavarian representations in Palo Alto and New York offer comprehensive advice and support for interested companies .