Global giant Google officially opened the doors to its new Melbourne office today.
The move expands the tech giant’s presence in Victoria, which will see its new Melbourne base offer support, policy sales, marketing, cloud computing services, and provide more than 100 desks with potential future expansion.
Google Melbourne site lead Sean McDonell said the tech giant's Melbourne presence has grown from just four people a few years ago to more than 100 desks.
“The new Melbourne office demonstrates our long-term commitment to businesses and partners in Victoria,” McDonell said.
Related: Queensland Puts Hand Up for Google HQ
Sydney will remain Google’s Australian headquarters despite the company’s effort to secure a base.
The New South Wales government rejected Google’s proposal to transform a Redfern site into a Silicon Valley-style technology hub in April this year.
The Melbourne office space, located on Collins Street, reflects Google’s trademark brand of colours blue, green, red and yellow.
The tech heavyweight is the latest in a slew of leading tech businesses to establish a major presence in the Victorian state, following the likes of global tech companies such as Amazon, Alibaba, JD.com, LiveTiles, Mimecast, Slack, Zendesk and Square.
Acting Premier James Merlino joined Minister for Innovation and the Digital Economy Philip Dalidakis to open the new Google office.
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Merlino described the opening as “a vote of confidence” in Victoria’s economy.
“Google’s new office will employ more than a hundred people and create training opportunities for our talented tech grads.”
Dalidakis said the state produces 38 per cent of the nation’s tech grads.
“We’re working hard to retain our number one tech city ranking in Australia, we believe Google has both a bright future here and a strong part to play in delivering strong job growth,” he said.
Victoria’s tech sector comprises more than 8000 companies and employs 160,000 people across the state.
