Google is opening its first Minnesota office in Rochester as it partners with the Mayo Clinic to work to "transform patient care."

Google made the announcement Thursday in a news release, saying it will open an office at Collider Coworking in the Conley-Maass-Downs building in downtown Rochester.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated the importance of coming together to come up with innovative ways of tackling health challenges,” Chris Mueller, Rochester Site Lead and Software Engineer with Google Cloud, said in a statement. “We are excited to officially join the Rochester community and deepen our collaboration with Mayo Clinic as we work together to transform health through technology.”

The Mayo Clinic has partnered with Google for more than a year. During that time, the prestigious healthcare provider moved its data to the cloud, began exploring using artificial intelligence to help develop radiotherapy plans, and helped respond to the COVID pandemic, the release says. 

“Part of what drew us to partner with Google was our shared cultures of collaboration,” Cris Ross, chief information officer of Mayo Clinic, said in a statement. “While the pandemic has accelerated usage of many valuable forms of remote collaboration and virtual health services, it has also caused us to truly appreciate in-person experiences and connection. 

"We’re excited to have this physical space designed to deepen our bond and facilitate innovation, where Google engineers will work side by side with Mayo Clinic researchers, physicians, information technology staff and data scientists, to apply advanced computing techniques to health care problems," Ross added. 

Google plans to open its office in Rochester later this year, once it's safe to do so based on local and state COVID-19 guidelines. 

“Mayo Clinic is a source of pride for our city, and we’re excited to welcome Google to our growing, vibrant business community,” Rochester Mayor Kim Norton said in a statement. “Google has long supported Minnesota businesses and nonprofits, and the fact that they’ve chosen Rochester for their first physical space in the state is testament to our reputation as a first-class city.” 

Gov. Tim Walz also cheered Google's decision to open an office in Minnesota, saying it will "provide sustained economic opportunity not only for the Rochester area, but for our entire state."

“This partnership with the Mayo Clinic reinforces Minnesota’s reputation as a welcoming state for innovation and economic opportunity. We welcome Google to our community," Walz added.  

Google says in 2019 it helped generate $7.29 billion of economic activity for 22,200 Minnesota businesses, nonprofits developers and others.