Microsoft announced on Thursday its plans to construct a second massive artificial intelligence (AI) data center in Wisconsin, bringing its total investment in the state to more than $7 billion.
This new project will join a previously announced $3.3 billion data center in Mount Pleasant, located in the southeastern corner of the state. Microsoft confirmed on Thursday that the initial data center is on track to open next year and will employ about 500 people at its peak, with the workforce expanding to roughly 800 once the second data center is completed.
The area in Racine County, situated between Milwaukee and Chicago, has recently attracted attention from U.S. presidents from both political parties. During President Donald Trump’s first term, it was the proposed site for a $10 billion factory by electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn, which builds phones for Apple. However, those plans were later scaled back significantly. At a Microsoft event last year, then-presidential candidate Joe Biden highlighted Foxconn’s withdrawal and Microsoft’s decision to proceed with the data center.
Microsoft said on Thursday that the site will eventually house the world’s most powerful AI supercomputer, which will connect hundreds of thousands of powerful chips from Nvidia. The company also stated that it plans to pre-pay for electrical infrastructure to prevent rising electricity rates in the region. Additionally, a state-of-the-art cooling system will leverage Wisconsin’s cool climate and reduce the data center’s yearly water usage to that of an average restaurant.
“This is where the next generation of AI will be trained, setting the stage for breakthroughs that will shape the future. New discoveries in medicine, science, and other critical fields will start right here, with the models we train in Wisconsin,” Microsoft President Brad Smith said in a blog post.
