Tech giant Google to open Adelaide office at Lot Fourteen

Global tech giant Google will open an Adelaide hub at North Tce’s Lot Fourteen, initially focused on health services. See what’s planned.

Global tech giant Google will set up an Adelaide base, at Lot Fourteen, as a hub for a Cloud Public Sector team working with South Australian health and medical researchers.

The third global technology services firm to commit to Adelaide in seven months, Google’s Adelaide hub also will be a training and event venue for its customers and partners.

Premier Steven Marshall hailed Google’s decision to forge a Lot Fourteen base as “a great accomplishment”,

“This is now the third global company to choose South Australia as its home, creating thousands of jobs in the hi-tech, digital, space and defence industries.

“South Australia has world-leading capabilities in AI, data analytics and cyber security that make us globally interesting and provides digital tech companies with an opportunity to come together to partner on projects that can literally change the world we live in.”

Duhne, General Manager Public Sector South Australia, Google Cloud (left) and Michael Grantham, Director Public Sector, Google Cloud AUNZ. Picture: Tom Roschi Photography

Technology giant Amazon in February opened an Adelaide office at Lot Fourteen, announcing plans to create 50 jobs in SA by 2024.

In September last year, global technology and services giant Accenture revealed it would set up an Adelaide hub, with a plan to create 2000 local jobs.

Google is expected to focus initially on health research and technology, including collaboration with the SA Health and Medical Research Institute.

The State Government has been working with Google Cloud to “showcase SA’s health ecosystem”, including the SA Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) and SA Health. Google also has examined how the Lot Fourteen-based Australian Institute of Machine Learning and MIT Living Lab are collaborating with the health and medical industries.

Google Cloud public sector director in Australia and New Zealand Michael Grantham said: “South Australia’s health capabilities are closely aligned with Google Cloud’s strategic priorities, and the state’s commitment to the technology sector … provides a unique environment for innovation and collaboration in the technology hub established at Lot Fourteen.

“We look forward to working with the government, other technology partners at Lot Fourteen, and businesses to support South Australia’s economy.”

Cloud computing involves the delivery of on-demand services – ranging from applications to storage and processing power – over the internet.

The Lot Fourteen site is already home to groups including the Australian Space Agency, the SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre and the Australian Cyber Collaboration Centre.

Two months after winning government in 2018, Mr Marshall approached Google in an ultimately unsuccessful bid to relocate its Australian headquarters from Sydney to Adelaide.

Potential locations included Lot Fourteen.

At the time, Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskas offered to join the Premier in a bipartisan pitch to attract Google, saying he did not care who got the credit for attracting the tech giant as long as SA got the jobs.

Google Cloud Platform is opening a Melbourne “region” this year, after opening in Sydney in 2017. The “regions” are the cornerstone of the firm’s cloud infrastructure, which powers business services including integrated video calling, email, chat and document collaboration apps.