Rochester, Minn. and Sunnyvale, Calif., February 18, 2021 -- Google continues to invest in local communities across the country, and today the company is announcing its first office in Minnesota, in the city of Rochester. Google has long worked with businesses and organizations across the state, and the company’s new space—at Collider Coworking in the historic Conley-Maass-Downs building in downtown Rochester—will give it a physical home in Minnesota, as well as will serve its long-term strategic partnership with Mayo Clinic. 

“The COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated the importance of coming together to come up with innovative ways of tackling health challenges,” said Chris Mueller, Rochester Site Lead and Software Engineer, Google Cloud. “We are excited to officially join the Rochester community and deepen our collaboration with Mayo Clinic as we work together to transform health through technology.”

In the first year-and-a-half of the partnership with Mayo Clinic, Google has helped the prestigious health organization move its data to the cloud, kicked off projects such as exploring the use of AI to help physicians develop radiotherapy plans, and worked together to respond and adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic. Together, Google and Mayo Clinic evaluated site locations that would allow them to work side-by-side to transform patient care. 

“Part of what drew us to partner with Google was our shared cultures of collaboration,” said Cris Ross, chief information officer of Mayo Clinic. “While the pandemic has accelerated usage of many valuable forms of remote collaboration and virtual health services, it has also caused us to truly appreciate in-person experiences and connection. We’re excited to have this physical space designed to deepen our bond and facilitate innovation, where Google engineers will work side by side with Mayo Clinic researchers, physicians, information technology staff and data scientists, to apply advanced computing techniques to health care problems.”

“Mayo Clinic is a source of pride for our city, and we’re excited to welcome Google to our growing, vibrant business community,” said Rochester Mayor Kim Norton. “Google has long supported Minnesota businesses and nonprofits, and the fact that they’ve chosen Rochester for their first physical space in the state is testament to our reputation as a first class city.” 

In 2019, Google helped generate $7.29 billion of economic activity for 22,200 Minnesota businesses, publishers, nonprofits, creators, and developers, as well as $7.3 million of free advertising to Minnesota nonprofits through the Google Ad Grants program. 

“Google putting down roots in Minnesota will provide sustained economic opportunity not only for the Rochester area, but for our entire state,” said Governor Tim Walz. “This partnership with the Mayo Clinic reinforces Minnesota’s reputation as a welcoming state for innovation and economic opportunity. We welcome Google to our community.” 

Google looks forward to officially opening the office later this year, once it is deemed safe to do so and in line with local and state COVID-19 guidelines.