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Google to invest $300M in Va., announces workforce grant
CodeVA to start network of computer science schools
Google to invest $300M in Va., announces workforce grant
CodeVA to start network of computer science schools
Google will invest $300 million in Virginia in a plan that includes data centers, the technology giant announced Tuesday during a press conference at its Reston office.
That’s in addition to a $250,000 grant to Richmond-based nonprofit CodeVA to develop a network of computer science lab schools to expand professional development for teachers, resources for students and for workforce training. Google will also partner with the state’s 23 community colleges and five regional higher education centers for professional certificates, according to a release from Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office.
CodeVA, which was formed in 2013 to train K-12 teachers to educate children in coding and other computer science skills, is expected to build its network of schools based on the CodeRVA Regional High School in Richmond, which opened five years ago. CodeVA is an affiliate partner of Code.org, the national computer science education nonprofit organization, and has alliances with Google and Amazon.com Inc.
While details about the company’s $300 million investment in Virginia were scant, Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai announced April 13 that the company would spend $9.5 billion in 2022 to expand offices and data centers in nearly two dozen states and add as many as 12,000 jobs. Virginia was named as a target for data centers.
Youngkin said Tuesday that the $300 million is an investment in “jobs in much-needed infrastructure across the commonwealth in their data center network.”
Google currently employs more than 480 people across the state, including at data centers in Loudoun County and its office in Reston. According to the company, it has donated more than $20 million to Virginia nonprofits since 2012 and helped provide $8.84 billion in economic activity for businesses, creators and organizations throughout the state. That figure includes more than 475,000 businesses that received requests for directions, phone calls, bookings and other connections to customers from Google in 2021.
“Virginia is a shining example of the work we’re doing across the United States with a growing office right here in Reston Station, and continued investments that we’re making in a our data centers in Northern Virginia,” Google Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist Vint Cerf said during Tuesday’s announcement. “And, as you and I talk, maybe we should be thinking about the southern part of the state, too.”
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