Google Roundup: Tech Giant Moves Solar Powered Drone Ops, Buys YouTube HQ
Aerial view of Google campus in Mountain View, CA
Titan Aerospace, Google’s unmanned vehicle company, is moving its operations to the Bay Area. Google purchased the company last year and had its base of operations at the Moriarty Municipal Airport, just east of Albuquerque, NM. When jobs will be relocated and how many employees will be affected remains unclear, but Google/Titan has 40 employees, according to Albuquerque Business First. “We remain optimistic about the potential of solar-powered planes to help deliver Internet connectivity, and look forward to Titan’s continued progress and collaboration alongside other Google teams in the Bay Area,” said Google’s public policy and government affairs manager Angie Welling. Google reportedly plans to build a solar powered drone that could fly for months and beam Internet connections to rural areas without broadband connections. [ABF]
YouTube HQ in San Bruno, CA
Google has purchased the San Bruno, CA HQ of its YouTube division. Leases for the two buildings totaling 196k SF on Cherry Avenue were scheduled to run through 2022. Property records show a purchase price of $88M, according to the San Francisco Business Times. In July, Google acquired 2367 Marine Way (which is already occupied) in Mountain View for $14.9M. The San Bruno buildings were extensively upgraded with high-tech features by YouTube, including a unique “Immersion Room,” which simulates a 360-degree video stream. [SFBT]
