Google invests $140M to expand its sole Latin American data center in Chile.

Google will invest $140 million to expand its sole data center in Latin America, located in Quilicura, near Santiago, Chile. The expansion represents the company's second stage of growth for the facility, which became operational in 2015.

The new investment will triple the data center's size to 11.2 hectares (27.7 acres) and will create more than 1,000 new jobs during the construction process and 120 new permanent jobs. This expansion builds on Google's initial $150 million investment used to build the center. The company first announced data center construction plans in Chile in 2012, eight months after it opened offices in the country.

Since January 2017, the data center has operated entirely on solar power from Chile's Atacama region. According to Edgardo Frias, Google's general manager in Chile, the improved infrastructure that came from establishing a data center in Chile has helped the company develop its capacity in artificial intelligence and machine learning.

"This new stage reinforces the promise Google made to the region to ensure that large and small companies, non-profit organizations, students, educators and all users can access key tools in a reliable and rapid way," Frias said.