In context: It's no secret that Silicon Valley is an expensive place to live. There are numerous reasons for this, but the tech boom that the region has experienced over the past several years has certainly been one of the main contributing factors. Everybody is moving there to carve out their place in the tech industry, with the hope of becoming the "next big thing."

Unfortunately for "normal" citizens and even big tech employees, the collateral damage has been quite significant. Housing is tough to find in the area, and what is available can be expensive and impractical for workers on the lower rungs of the tech ladder (or minimum-wage employees in other industries).

Google, one of Silicon Valley's biggest companies, is hoping to address this issue moving forward. In an announcement published today, company CEO Sundar Pichai announced his plan to spend a whopping $1 billion over the next 10 years with the end goal of constructing over 20,000 homes for San Francisco's Bay Area residents.

15,000 of these homes will be available for those with "all" income levels, but 5,000 will be built specifically to house "middle and low-income families." Furthermore, Google will be offering up a total of $50 million in grants to any nonprofits who focus on the "issues of homelessness and displacement."

It remains to be seen whether or not Google can pull off this ambitious plan, but for now, Pichai seems confident his company can keep their word.