Googleplex is Google's main headquarters, located in Mountain View, California. Learn about its size, cost, how to visit, and Google's other offices.
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The Googleplex, the global headquarters for Google and its parent company Alphabet, is located in Mountain View, California.
The name Googleplex has two meanings. First, it's a portmanteau of "Google" and "complex." But it has an additional significance that connects to the origin of Google's name.
A "googol" is a totally massive number, and the source of the tech giant's name. A googolplex is equal to 10 to the googol power.
The Googleplex campus spans about 12 acres of land with over 3 million square feet of office space. It is Google's largest headquarters, closely rivaled by its nearly 3-million-square-foot office building in Manhattan.
Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page rented out their friend Susan Wojcicki's garage to use as office space when the company was first incorporated in 1998. Just a few years later, in 2006, Google purchased the Googleplex for $319 million.
The company's headquarters, where Google CEO Sundar Pichai spends his work days, has since undertaken a number of expansions, including one in 2019 that added over 30,000 square feet of new space. The Googleplex expansion included multiple cafes, fitness facilities, and lounge areas. The design theme is based on the historical salt production that took place in the local marshes.
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There are more than 70 offices in 50 countries around the world, according to the company's website.
In the United States, Google's footprint covers well over two dozen cities, including Miami, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Boulder, Chicago, and Portland.
Google's office sites are often unique buildings that reflect the history of the cities where they're located.
For instance, the Pittsburgh office is located in a former Nabisco factory, its Chicago office is a converted cold storage facility, and its LA office is located in a historic airplane hangar. Google DeepMind is located in an 11-storey building in Kings Cross, London.
Google's New York headquarters, located in an old train terminal next to the Hudson River, opened in February 2024. The new HQ features rooftop solar panels, multiple terraces and gardens, an event space, and communal workspaces and lounges.
It's unclear exactly how many employees work at the Googleplex in California. But altogether, Alphabet, Google's parent company, employed some 182,500 workers as of 2023.
The Googleplex's famous amenities — including gardens, fitness classes, and "MicroKitchens" — have long drawn tech workers to seek out prestigious Google jobs.
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Its quirky and technologically advanced design has turned the Googleplex into a tourist attraction in the Bay Area.
While you can't enter the buildings without being accompanied by an authorized employee, you are free to walk the grounds of the complex. You can check out the tyrannosaurus rex statue that's meant to remind employees to stay on the cutting edge and avoid becoming dinosaurs, the Android sculpture park, the gardens that grow food for the campus restaurants, sports fields, and more.
If you're looking for more than self-guided wandering, you can head next door to Google's Gradient Canopy office, which is home to the Google Visitor Experience. You can attend workshops and other events at the Huddle, check out local goods at Google's pop-up shop, visit cafes and the Google Store, and take in interesting outdoor art installations on the Plaza.
