Google Hires Yossi Matias to Open New R&D Centre in Tel Aviv

Matias – a scientist and technology leader – to open centre in early 2007

October 17, 2006 - Tel Aviv. Google announced today that it will be opening a Research and Development centre in Tel-Aviv, Israel. The new centre will be headed by Prof. Yossi Matias, a scientist and entrepreneur, and an expert on algorithms, databases, and internet technologies.

Sergey Brin, Co-Founder and President, Google Inc said: "We are thrilled to have Yossi head up our Tel-Aviv R&D centre. Engineering is at the heart of what we do at Google - we use innovative technology to help solve complex problems. By using the best engineering and scientific talent available Google ensures that users can find the most relevant information".

As a country renowned for its thriving economy and passion for new technologies, Israel is home to many outstanding computer scientists and engineers, and Google is looking to expand its global R&D operations and establish long partnerships with Israeli institutes and universities.

Yossi Matias will open the Google centre in early 2007. Prof. Matias is on leave from his faculty position at the School of Computer Science at Tel Aviv University, and was previously a research scientist at Bell Laboratories and visitor at Stanford. He is an author of over 100 technology and scientific papers, an inventor of over 20 patents, and is a recipient of the 2005 ACM-EATCS Gödel prize in Theoretical Computer Science for his work on algorithms and analysis of data streams. He has over a decade of experience in the high tech industry as an entrepreneur, executive, and advisor to technology companies in the areas of databases, business intelligence, data security, and search technologies.

Google's Tel-Aviv Centre adds to the recent opening of Google's Haifa centre in Israel. It is the latest addition to a growing number of global centres, which include Zurich, Switzerland; London, England; Bangalore, India; Beijing, China; Haifa, Israel; Tokyo, Japan; Moscow, Russia; New York; Santa Monica, Calif.; Kirkland, Wash.; and Mountain View, Calif.

Google currently employs around 1,500 people across Europe. It aims to become the number one destination for anyone wishing to pursue a career in media or engineering. For more information about jobs at Google please go to: www.google.co.il/jobs

For information: Michal Samuels – Euro Communication – 03.6363611, 050.8557352