Google to Open Second Data Center in Latin America, to Invest Over $850 Mln 

The president of Google Cloud for Latin America, Eduardo Lopez, participates in the inauguration of the Google Data Center works, on the premises of the Science Park, in Canelones, Uruguay 29 August 2024. (EPA)
The president of Google Cloud for Latin America, Eduardo Lopez, participates in the inauguration of the Google Data Center works, on the premises of the Science Park, in Canelones, Uruguay 29 August 2024. (EPA)
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Google to Open Second Data Center in Latin America, to Invest Over $850 Mln 

The president of Google Cloud for Latin America, Eduardo Lopez, participates in the inauguration of the Google Data Center works, on the premises of the Science Park, in Canelones, Uruguay 29 August 2024. (EPA)
The president of Google Cloud for Latin America, Eduardo Lopez, participates in the inauguration of the Google Data Center works, on the premises of the Science Park, in Canelones, Uruguay 29 August 2024. (EPA)

Alphabet's Google said on Thursday it will open its second data center in Latin America in the Uruguayan city of Canelones and invest more than $850 million in it.

Google opened its first data center in Latin America in Quilicura, which is near Santiago, the capital city of Chile, in 2015. It invested an initial amount of $150 million in the data center and spent an additional $140 million in 2018 for expansion.

"We hope our new data center in Canelones will be a significant contribution to the professional and technological development of Uruguay and the entire region," Google said in a blog post.

Reuters reported on Thursday that Google is considering building a "hyperscale" data center close to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and that the center would be ready in 2027.

In April, Google announced a $3 billion investment to set up a data center campus in Indiana and expand sites in Virginia. Google also said in May that it will invest $2 billion in Malaysia to develop its first data center and Google Cloud region in the country.



Salesforce Gains as Software Firm Bets on AI Tools to Power Growth

The Salesforce logo is pictured on a building in San Francisco, California, US October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Lily Jamali/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
The Salesforce logo is pictured on a building in San Francisco, California, US October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Lily Jamali/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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Salesforce Gains as Software Firm Bets on AI Tools to Power Growth

The Salesforce logo is pictured on a building in San Francisco, California, US October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Lily Jamali/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
The Salesforce logo is pictured on a building in San Francisco, California, US October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Lily Jamali/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Shares of Salesforce gained more than 5% on Thursday as investors cheered the customer relationship management software maker's upbeat quarterly results and its artificial intelligence push to drive growth.

The company has been heavily investing to integrate its AI technologies into existing products, such as its messaging platform Slack, to enhance their capabilities and attract more customers.

"We continue to see Salesforce as an under-appreciated AI winner as its differentiated data and early success in creating/deploying GenAI agents," Reuters quoted Goldman Sachs analyst Kash Rangan as saying.

Wall Street was concerned that tempered cloud spending would affect Salesforce in a tough economy, but the software-as-a-service (SaaS) firm reported better-than-expected revenue, profit and margins in the second quarter.

Salesforce also raised its profit forecast for the year ending January 2025, as margins continue to expand, thanks to its restructuring efforts last year.

The stock is trading at 24.49 times that of Wall Street's profit expectations, compared with 52.11 for SaaS peer ServiceNow and cloud contact center firm Five9's 13.30.

Salesforce is set to add $14 billion to its market capitalization if premarket gains hold. The company's valuation stood at $248 billion as of Wednesday's close.

"We think these results alone are not good enough to drive a sustainable rally from here. For that, we need more catalysts, which could come with the new AI solutions," which are set to be showcased at its event Dreamforce and launched in October, Barclays analyst Raimo Lenschow said.

Some analysts believe that sustained growth in the coming quarters can come through customer support platform Agentforce, which is not yet commercially available.