Microsoft is investing billions into another major US AI data center — and its location is a slap in the face to Apple

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Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, once set to become the future home of Foxconn’s LCD manufacturing plant, has finally been given a new lease of life as the new home of a major Microsoft AI facility.

Microsoft has announced plans to invest $3.3 billion into constructing a new data center campus in the area, which it will use to fuel the ever-increasing and insatiable needs of cloud computing and artificial intelligence.

In a separate White House announcement, the Biden Administration slammed President Trump’s failure to “invest in places that have been historically overlooked or failed” – a swipe at plans for a Foxconn LCD center which fell through six years ago.

Microsoft building $3.3bn data center on failed Foxconn territory

The development will create 2,300 union construction jobs and a further 2,000 permanent jobs, marking the center’s vast impact on the local economy. The multi-billion dollar investment will also equip more than 100,000 of Wisconsin’s residents with essential AI skills.

Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President of Microsoft, commented: “We will use the power of AI to help advance the next generation of manufacturing companies, skills and jobs in Wisconsin and across the country. This is what a big company can do to build a strong foundation for every medium, small and start-up company and non-profit everywhere.”

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers added: “This is a watershed moment for Wisconsin and a critical part of our work to build a 21st-century workforce and economy in the Badger State.”

Details regarding the scale of the campus were notably left out of the announcements by Microsoft and the White House, however the company also committed to building a 250 megawatt solar farm in the state together with the National Grid in order to address the data center’s mighty power consumption.

Redmond also committed to using water responsibly at the site, noting that it would only use recycled water in a closed loop system when the temperature gets too hot.