The local Google team now counts more than 400 people, having grown from a small staff of a few employees in November 2010, when the US company opened an office in Bucharest.
The Bucharest technology hub is currently Google’s largest wearables development center in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) region, and the solutions and services developed in Romania are incorporated into smartwatches and Pixel phones. Bucharest hosts several engineering teams whose work spans areas such as Google Wearables Health Experiences, and Fitbit Consumer Services, as well as Google Research and Google Cloud infrastructure solutions.
With its foundation in strong talent and STEM education, Romania is well-positioned for the next AI-defined chapter, Patrick Warnking, VP of Google CEE, said at an event marking the company’s 15th anniversary on the local market.
“In Bucharest, we will continue to drive innovation with wearables, devices, and other topics. We will continue with turning local startups and major enterprises across the region into leaders in the adoption of AI to give them an innovation advantage going forward,” he said.
“This 15 years of activity represent a solid foundation for the next chapter, one that will be defined by artificial intelligence. We will continue to support the development of digital skills, accelerate innovation in the business environment, and contribute to the digital transformation of the entire society through partnerships and localized products. At the same time, we will continue to develop in Romania the technologies used in Pixel devices,” Elisabeta Moraru, Country Director of Google Romania, said.
In its 15 years in Romania, the company has run several programs, including the Google Digital Workshop for students in nine university centers across Romania and Google for Startups. Since 2012, through Google.org, grants of nearly USD 6 million have been awarded to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Romania for the development of social and educational programs.
Since 2023, Google Romania, in collaboration with the National Institute of Administration, has implemented programs to educate public administration personnel in the field of artificial intelligence. Approximately 8,500 civil servants from Romania and the Republic of Moldova have taken part in training sessions on AI, online safety, and cybersecurity.
The company launched the Romanian version of YouTube in 2013, and today more than 13 million Romanians (over 18 years old) watch videos on the platform. Every day, a person in Romania watches, on average, over 50 minutes of YouTube content, according to data from the company.
Many of the country’s cultural and natural landmarks can be accessed digitally, through projects such as Google Maps Street View and Google Arts & Culture. In 2015, the Turda Salt Mine was made available to virtual visitors on Google Street View. In 2018, in collaboration with the World Wide Fund (WWF), Google Romania put the Danube Delta on Street View. In 2023, much of Via Transilvanica, the long-distance route that crosses Romania, has been photographed and can be explored digitally on Google Street View. The first Romanian collections were launched on Google Arts & Culture in 2014, when three museums – the Brukenthal National Museum, the National Museum of the Romanian Peasant, and the ASTRA National Museum Complex, as well as other heritage associations from Romania – published their selections on the platform.
(Photo: the company)
simona@romania-insider.com
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