It was on the banks of the Limmat that Google established its first European development site in 2004. On the occasion of its anniversary, various personalities from the economy and research as well as major figures from Google – including Urs Hölzle, a key figure at the founding of the Zurich site – retraced these 20 years of innovation together and looked at the next decade, which will undoubtedly be marked by progress in artificial intelligence.
It has been 20 years since two Google employees inaugurated the company’s first development site in Europe on Limmatquai in Zurich. At the same time, the term “googling” entered the Swiss vocabulary. Google Maps or YouTube did not yet exist, and concepts such as smartphones or cloud computing were still unknown to most people.
Google, an engine of innovation
In 20 years, technology has undergone rapid evolution, driven by a wide variety of innovative players. Google Switzerland, which has around 5,000 employees from 85 countries, has contributed to this progress and continues to actively be part of it. In this context, the company pays particular attention to the research and development of artificial intelligence (AI).
AI indeed opens up new opportunities, both for society and the economy – an observation shared today by personalities from the world of economics and research as well as major figures from Google. These different actors and actresses met on the sidelines of Google’s anniversary on its Zurich site to discuss potential, partnerships and innovations within local ecosystems. Alongside Christine Antlanger-Winter, Country Director of Google Switzerland, participants in this event also included Urs Hölzle, Google Fellow, Monika Rühl, director of economiesuisse, as well as Prof. Dr. Joël Mesot, President of the ETH Zurich.
Everyone underlined the importance of Google for the Swiss economic center. This is how, for example, many former Google employees have since founded their own start-ups in Switzerland or teach at prestigious universities. Currently, 115 companies have been founded by former Google Switzerland employees and have created more than 1,700 jobs.
Harnessing the potential of AI
In addition to this retrospective, participants in the event also looked forward to the future. And everyone agrees that it will be marked by progress in AI. Artificial intelligence (AI) already plays a decisive role in Switzerland’s economic development today. The use of generative AI could increase Switzerland’s annual gross domestic product by 80 to 85 billion francs (up to 11%) over the next ten years. This is confirmed by the results of the study “The economic potential of AI for Switzerland” (in English) commissioned this year by Google and supported by economiesuisse. Monika Rühl, director of economiesuisse, once again referred to this study and stressed that Switzerland has a strong innovation ecosystem and occupies, in European comparison, a leading position which will allow it to exploit the potential of AI in the context of sustainable economic growth.
Great collaborations for research
Google took an early interest in the innovative Swiss research and development environment, as well as its excellent training establishments. The ETH Zurich was one of the main reasons which motivated Google to choose Switzerland as a development site 20 years ago. Since then, the company has maintained close contact with the Zurich Polytechnic School, but also with the EPF in Lausanne. Many employees have studied at the ETH. And conversely, some move from Google to the ETH Zurich in order to teach there or continue their research. This is particularly the case within the ETH AI Center. As Joël Mesot, president of the EPF, explains, this center brings together the best experts from different disciplines to work on different innovations and issues, such as climate change, health and demographic change. . For many years, the EPF and Google have actively collaborated on research projects that have established Switzerland internationally as a site of innovation.
Invent together
Concluding the event, Christine Antlanger-Winter, Country Director of Google Switzerland, once again summed up why the company values Switzerland so much as a business location: “Google has strong ties to Switzerland. The environment for innovation that this country offers has always inspired our company. We are very attached to close collaboration and exchanges with our partners in the worlds of science, education and industry. Collaboration also represents a major focus for Google, both internally and externally. We innovate together. This is a value that Google shares with Switzerland. Innovation is as deeply inscribed in Switzerland’s DNA as it is in Google’s.”
The main stages in twenty years
Google Switzerland is 20 years old: year after year 2004 – 2024
2004: In April, Google opened its first Swiss office on Limmatquai in Zurich, with two employees.
2005: In May, Google Switzerland moves from the small office on Limmatquai to more spacious premises on Freigutstrasse (near Zurich Enge station).
2006: Google acquires the Lucerne geodata company Endoxon. This recovery forms the basis of numerous innovations on Google Maps, the largest “digital atlas”, constantly expanded with innovative features over the years that follow.
2007: Google Transit (the display of public transport on Google Maps) is launched in Switzerland with CFF data. This function is largely co-developed on the Google site in Zurich.
2008: relocation of the Google Switzerland office from Freigutstrasse to Hürlimann Areal.
2009: Street View, a Google Maps feature which initially offers 360° street views, is launched in Switzerland.
2010: “TrueView,” the video ad format that users can play on YouTube – largely co-developed by Reto Strobl and his colleagues in Zurich – launches and is a game-changer across the industry, as advertisers no longer pay only if the advertising spots are viewed for at least 30 seconds.
2011: the “Google Art Project” (today “Google Arts & Culture) is launched. The Olympic Museum in Lausanne is the first museum in Switzerland that can be visited virtually. Other museums follow, such as the Fondation Beyeler, the Kunsthaus Zürich, the Tonhalle Zürich et many others encore.
2013: the copyright protection tool «Content ID» on YouTube receives the first Emmy Technology Award in Los Angeles. The then-revolutionary copyright solution, as well as many other YouTube creation tools, were largely co-developed in Zurich.
2014: the “Google House” celebrates 10 years of Google Switzerland
2015: the “Google Flights” search portal, largely developed by the Google Travel team in Zurich, now also shows more climate-friendly train connections, including with Deutsche Bahn.
2016: creation of Google’s first AI research team in Europe: the “Google Research Europe” R&D department, specialized in machine learning, moves into the Hürlimann Areal
Also in 2016, the new CEO of Google, Sundar Pichai, announced the launch of “Google Assistant”, which would then be largely co-developed in Zurich. Different teams, such as voice search and the Google Lens team (the “eyes” of Google Assistant launched in 2017), work largely from Zurich (including Ralph Keller, at Google Switzerland since 2004).
2017: Google is opening a new office in the Sihlpost building on Europaallee, not far from Zurich main station, above Zurich’s main post office. This is the first Google building installed on the “second Zurich campus” (Google rents the offices from SBB Immobilier).
2018: Google and the EPF Lausanne sign a framework contract to strengthen their research cooperation (the collaboration dates back to 2010 and includes around thirty projects).
ETH Zurich has been collaborating in research for many years. This partnership will be deepened in spring 2024 as part of the collaboration with the AI Center at ETH Zurich.
2019: The Google Cloud Platform Zurich region now offers businesses Google Cloud services directly from Switzerland.
2020: the first five apprentices in the “CFC Application Development” IT apprenticeship successfully complete their course at Google Switzerland. In the following years, the apprentice program will be continuously developed (currently, 56 apprentices are training at Google Switzerland).
2021: world premiere at Zurich Airport – “Live View” 3D navigation on Google Maps is being offered for the first time in the world to airport users.
2022: Google Maps navigation becomes more sustainable: fuel-efficient routes are coming to Switzerland and offer more climate-friendly navigation on request.
2023: Google Gemini (formerly “Bard”) is launched – a major development site of the team is in Zurich – and new functions are constantly added to the GenAI solution. ( → Source «Gemini»)
Also in 2023: Google launches its “Google Pixel” smartphone series in Switzerland for the first time, in collaboration with partners and in the Swiss Google Store.
2024: Google Switzerland is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its Zurich site and looks forward to “inventing together” with its partners in Switzerland in the years to come.
