Google Public Sector CEO Karen Dahut said there's urgency in government to leverage AI, transform and do it in a national secure way. The company positioned itself as a key public sector AI infrastructure provider that can enable AI agents to carry out missions.
“We believe agencies of the future will be powered by AI and agents that are ubiquitous and multimodal. This means the public sector will become more productive and more efficient,” said Dahut.
The Google unit, which launched in 2022, has increasingly gained in public sector accounts and has hooked up with key integrators such as Lockheed Martin. As outlined a year ago, Google Public Sector is also set up on Google Cloud's security foundation and various controls as well as its Mandiant unit and security operations. Google Public Sector is an independent entity that leverage Google Cloud technology, but takes it the last mile (with isolated instances in some cases). Google rolled out Gemini for Government before Gemini for Enterprise.
"The pace truly is unlike anything we've ever seen. We're talking days, not months or years, and there is a heightened sense of global urgency. We've got to move fast, and there's a new national security imperative," said Dahut. "The high ground is no longer just air and space, it's the digital domain. This is our new reality, and the stakes are super high at the same time you are being asked to do more with less in mission critical environments that are constantly evolving."
Google Public Sector 2025 kicked off amid a US government shutdown that Dahut addressed at the top.
"I know that for so many of you in this room, and not in this room, our federal agency customers, leaders, dedicated public servants and the entire contracting community, this government shutdown is creating profound uncertainty and difficulty," said Dahut. "Your missions are critical. The work you do matters."
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Dahut added that Google is upping its capital expenses to $85 billion to build out its AI infrastructure. She also emphasized security and options to deploy AI off the cloud. “There is security everywhere all the time. We believe agencies of the future will be powered by a zero trust security foundation that shifts the advantage back to cyber defenders,” said Dahut.
The big themes
At Google Public Sector 2025, there were a few big themes hit by executives.
- There was an emphasis on Google Cloud's integrated AI stack including its custom TPUs that generate AI performance and cost efficiency. That said, Google Public Sector's keynote featured an extended partnership with Nvidia. Nvidia's Ian Buck, VP of Hyperscale and HPC, filled in for CEO Jensen Huang, who was in the neighborhood for Nvidia GTC Washington, DC, but had to fly for trade talks with China.
- Google noted that it has an extensive global network to support missions including 42 regions, 124 zones and 202 edge locations. Google executives didn't say it directly, but the subtext is that the company's AI infrastructure is already built instead of merely announced and gigawatt press releases extending into the next decade.
- Google Public Sector is gaining beyond just the US federal market and outlined a series of state and city customer wins.
- There's still a healthy dose of federal AI deals as Google Public Sector ran through multiple use cases for US departments and agencies such as the Department of Defense, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Department of Energy, FAA, NOAA, National Cancer institute and others.
Gemini for Government as an orchestrator
Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, highlighted Gemini for Government and the ability to build models and AI agents.
Kurian cited the US Postal Service, which is using Vertex AI, to modernize legacy systems and the National Cancer Institute, which is automating research processes.
According to Kurian, AI agents and AI conversational platforms will be embedded into "every employee and process workflow for every government agency."
Gemini for Government is designed to connect to data stores and keep context as well as use multiple models.
In a demo of Gemini for Government, executives highlighted agents and connectors to various systems as well as mission specific efforts from partners.
Kurian also emphasized on-premise and air-gapped deployments of Gemini.
"We also bring our AI to wherever your mission sits, whatever your mission is. The same Gemini model that is available in the public cloud is also available on Google Distributed Cloud," said Kurian. "We call it GDC for connected on premise environments and fully air gap deployments. Together with our partner, Nvidia, we're bringing Gemini on Blackwell GPUs to your data centers."
