 "Here's how much Google will pay in rent for new office space in Bengaluru")
Google has acquired a significant 649,000 sq ft office space in Alembic City of Bengaluru’s Whitefield, at a monthly rent of Rs 4.02 crore. The lease, priced at Rs 62 per sq ft per month and locked in for three years, aligns with the tech giant’s expansion strategy in India, according to a report in the Economic Times.
The move underlines Google’s commitment to strengthening its footprint by investing in both conventional and flexible office spaces across major Indian cities.
Google’s expansion plan in India
The lease follows a series of expansions by the tech giant in India. In 2022, Google renewed a lease for a 600,000 sq ft of office area in Hyderabad and acquired an additional 1.3 million sq ft through a transaction with the Bagmane Developers in Bengaluru.
The report quoted another source as saying that since 2020, Google has seen a remarkable expansion of its office space in India, increasing by an impressive 3.5 million sq ft. Spanning across five cities in India, the tech giant now has a total real estate footprint of 9.3 million sq ft.
The company has undertaken several initiatives to create a strong presence in the Indian market. These include plans to manufacture smartphones at a Foxconn facility in Tamil Nadu. The company will also kickstart the production of Pixel smartphones in India, beginning with the Pixel 8 model.
Other production plans in India
Additionally, Google’s parent company Alphabet plans to initiate drone production in Tamil Nadu through its subsidiary Wing LLC. Currently, Wing LLC operates a drone delivery service for businesses in the United States, Europe, and Australia using lightweight, autonomous drones.
In a recent blog post, Google had mentioned, “India holds priority status for Pixel smartphones, and we’re committed to offering the best of our hardware and integrated software capabilities to the people of India.”
Google’s AI tools
Last week, Google made headlines when it unveiled its most significant search change in years, highlighting its latest artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.
Earlier this year, Google rolled out Bard’s successor, Gemini, touted as a chatbot capable of generating images and serving as a voice-operated digital assistant. However, users quickly noticed Gemini’s reluctance to generate images featuring white people and its propensity for inaccurate depictions of historical figures.