Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., announced on Thursday its plans to open a second data center in Latin America, specifically in Canelones, Uruguay.

What Happened: The company will invest more than $850 million in this new facility. Google first entered the Latin American data center market in 2015 with a facility in Quilicura, near Santiago, Chile.

"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.

In May, Google announced a $3 billion investment for a data center campus in Indiana and expansion in Virginia, along with a $2 billion investment in Malaysia for its first data center and Google Cloud region in the country.

In June, Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced a $2.3 billion investment in Ohio's data centers, further solidifying the state's position as a burgeoning tech hub.

Why It Matters: The global data center market is experiencing rapid growth, driven by the increasing demand for cloud services and artificial intelligence infrastructure. According to Taz Koujalgi, managing director and equity research analyst at Wedbush Securities, cloud security remains in its early stages despite the swift adoption of these services.

China has also reportedly made significant investments in data centers, committing over $6 billion following the U.S. semiconductor embargo. This move underscores the strategic importance of data centers in the global tech landscape.

Additionally, innovations in data center technology, such as those by Sustainable Metal Cloud, are making these facilities more efficient. Their technology, which reduces energy consumption by up to 50%, is crucial as the demand for high-density GPU hosting increases.