Google invests $1 billion in Australian digital infrastructure

Google said on Tuesday it will spend A$1 billion ($735 million) in Australia over five years, calling the investment its biggest to date in the country it recently threatened to pull its services from as it looks to mend relations with the government.

The main operating unit of Alphabet Inc said it would spend the money expanding cloud infrastructure, setting up a research hub staffed by Australian researchers and engineers and partner with science agency the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).

“Australia can help lead the world’s next wave of innovation, harnessing technology to improve lives, create jobs, and make progress,” said Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai in a statement.

The spending plan was intended “to strengthen local capabilities and help build Australia’s digital economy for the future”, added Google Australia Managing Director Mel Silva in the statement.

The move marks a change from earlier this year when Silva threatened in Australia’s parliament to block Google’s search engine to avoid laws forcing the company and social media operator Facebook Inc to pay news outlets for content posted to their websites.