In a strategic move to strengthen its AI capabilities, Microsoft announced plans to invest $3.3 billion to build a new AI data center in Racine, Wisconsin. The project has political overtones, as Joe Biden’s White House seeks to attack Trump’s economic policies.
pc mug report Microsoft is building a new $3.3 billion data center in Racine, Wisconsin, and making new investments in AI. The move comes after Apple’s Taiwanese third-party iPhone maker Foxconn’s previous plans to build a display screen factory on the same land fell through. Microsoft promises the new data center will create about 2,300 construction union jobs and 2,000 permanent jobs.
The new data center announcement comes as part of Microsoft’s broader AI development efforts. Microsoft President Brad Smith is scheduled to formally announce the plan in Wisconsin with President Joe Biden. This new facility will help meet Microsoft’s demand for more computing power to power its energy-intensive AI projects.
In recent years, there has been growing concern about the impact of AI on the power grid and climate. However, Microsoft continues its large-scale AI push and emphasizes the importance of developing this technology for the future. This week, Microsoft Chief Technology Officer Kevin Scott highlighted the company’s commitment to AI development, saying that over the past five years it has been building “large supercomputers to train AI models.” Stated.
Wisconsin’s new AI data center will also host a Data Center Academy that will train 1,000 people in the state for STEM jobs, meeting the growing need for skilled workers in the field. The “Co-Innovation Lab” that Microsoft will build in the state will further contribute to the development of AI technology.
The former Foxconn site was slated to house a 20 million-square-foot factory that would make screens for televisions and digital devices until plans fell through. The project cost him more than $900 million over four years, and even though the state of Wisconsin invested more than $200 million, the site remained largely unused.
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Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering free speech and online censorship issues.
