Google Announces Investment Initiatives in Brazil

Google announced on Tuesday (June 14) a series of initiatives and investments in Brazil, a country with both a huge market of more than 200 million people and an appetite for regulating Big Tech.

One aspect of today’s announcement included “reinforcing Brazil as an innovation hub” via the construction of the Google Sao Paulo Engineering Center, which the company said will be complete by 2024 and will house 400 Google employees. The center, according to Google, will be connected with Sao Paulo University and be part of a technology institute created by the state. The Big Tech firm said it has invested more than $312 million in Brazil since 2017 to beef up the company’s technical infrastructure.

“Initially, this new hub will host Google engineers working on areas like privacy, security and safety. They will join teams focused on delivering simple user protection and controls to help people stay safe online,” Google said.

Google also announced plans to drive economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic. Referencing a 2021 analysis from a consulting firm, Google said the use of its major platforms in Brazil generated $19.4 billion in economic impact.

The tech giant said it will expand its use of Duplex, an artificial intelligence-based technology that uses natural voices on automated calls so employees can easily update business hours listed on Google Maps. Google is also aiming to make it easier for people find organizations such as soup kitchens online.

Finally, the company announced that it will provide 500,000 scholarships for Google Career Certificates over the next four years. The certificates will help recipients enter fields such as data analysis and user-interface design.

Google’s announcement made no mention of what has proven to be an unpredictable regulatory climate for technology companies operating in Brazil. The country’s central government has made moves to prevent social media companies from deleting certain types of contact and to compel companies that do business in Brazil to open offices there. Brazil also has explored ways to make Big Tech firms pay for news articles they profit from re-posting.