The first Googlers arrived in Munich in early 2006. Exactly ten years later, on Friday, April 8, 2016, around 200 guests and over 400 employees celebrated the opening of the new development center in Arnulfpark.
Bavaria's Minister of Economic Affairs, Ilse Aigner, and Munich's Mayor, Dieter Reiter, along with the center's director, Dr. Wieland Holfelder, and Google Central Europe CEO, Philipp Justus, officially launched the project. Up to 800 employees, the majority of them software engineers, will work for Google at the new Google location at Hackerbrücke in the coming years.
“With excellent universities, modern infrastructure and its high recreational value, Munich offers perfect conditions for us."
explains Dr. Wieland Holfelder, Head of Development at Google Germany and Head of the Munich Development Center.
"Over the past ten years, we have truly put down roots in Bavaria. Together with our numerous partners, we want to continue to contribute to Munich remaining at the forefront of international business in the digital future."
Bavaria’s Minister of Economic Affairs Ilse Aigner:
"Google has chosen the right location in Bavaria. Munich is the number one ICT region in Europe. We in Bavaria recognized digitalization as a future-oriented topic early on. A central component of our BAYERN DIGITAL strategy is the networking of business and science. In doing so, we focus on startups as well as established flagship companies. With the new development center, we are strengthening Bavaria as a high-tech location. In this way, we are leveraging the opportunities of digitalization throughout Bavaria."
The fact that startups play an enormous role at Google, including in Munich, is demonstrated by the initiative Google Launchpad Week. In the WERK1 Mentors and coaches from Google will be available to answer questions and advise startups in the early stages of their founding. On Tuesday, April 12, the Launchpad Open Night where startups and interested parties can exchange ideas and network over snacks and drinks.
