Google is Building a Campus Just for Hardware
- Paul Thurrott
- Aug 09, 2021
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CNBC reports that Google is building a five-building campus codenamed “Midpoint” that will house its hardware business.
According to the report, Google paid over $389 million for the land in San Jose, California that sits next to an existing complex that’s currently used, in part, but its hardware business. But the new location will be much bigger, and it will include room for not just office space but also R&D, manufacturing, storage, distribution, and more. Only 20 percent of the new complex will be devoted to office space.
The five buildings will be connected via a pedestrian bridge over a road, the report notes. The R&D center will feature “meeting rooms, lounge areas, micro kitchens, equipment platforms, conveyor belts, and a shipping warehouse,” CNBC says, citing the plans and permits it has viewed. Those plans specifically mention “Google Hardware” and “Nest.”
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Google has invested many billions of dollars on hardware over the past decade or so, most notably via its Pixel device efforts—which include purchasing HTC’s core smartphone assets and employees—and via its purchase of, and further investment in, Nest. This could be good news, in particular, for fans of the struggling Pixel lineup, but I suppose Nest alone justifies this expense.