President Joe Biden to join
Microsoft for announcement in Mount Pleasant
MOUNT PLEASANT, Wis.,
May 8,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Microsoft today announced a
broad investment package designed to strengthen the role of
Southeast Wisconsin as a hub for
AI-powered economic activity, innovation, and job creation. These
investments include $3.3B in cloud
computing and AI infrastructure, the creation of the country's
first manufacturing-focused AI co-innovation lab, and an AI
skilling initiative to equip more than 100,000 of the state's
residents with essential AI skills. President Joe Biden will join Microsoft President
Brad Smith at Gateway Technical College to announce the new
investment.
"Wisconsin has a rich and
storied legacy of innovation and ingenuity in manufacturing," said
Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President
of Microsoft. "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."
These investments will be rolled out in a four-part strategy
designed to create long-term benefits for the state's economy and
job market.
Investing in cloud and AI infrastructure
First, Microsoft will invest $3.3B
between now and the end of 2026 to expand its national cloud and AI
infrastructure capacity through the development of a
state-of-the-art datacenter campus in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin. The project is expected to bring an
influx of 2,300 union construction jobs to the area by 2025, as
well as providing long-term employment opportunities over the next
several years. This new infrastructure will help enable companies
in Wisconsin and across the
country to develop, deploy and use the world's most advanced cloud
services and AI applications to grow, modernize and improve their
products and enterprises.
Along with building a physical data center, Microsoft will
partner with Gateway Technical College
to build a Data Center Academy to train and certify more than 1,000
students in five years to work in the new data center and IT sector
jobs created in the area.
"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,"
said Governor Tony Evers. "Microsoft
is a blue-chip corporation that recognizes the strength of
Wisconsin's workers,
infrastructure, economy, and our quality of life. Microsoft has
chosen to locate and invest here because they know the future is
here in Wisconsin."
Transforming businesses of all sizes in every
industry
Second, to help build a thriving regional AI innovation economy,
Microsoft will establish a manufacturing focused AI Co-Innovation
Lab on the campus of the University of
Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the first of its kind in the United States. This lab will connect
Wisconsin manufacturers and other
companies with Microsoft's AI experts and developers to design and
prototype AI and cloud solutions to improve and accelerate their
work and grow their business. This lab will aim to serve 270
Wisconsin companies by 2030, including
135 manufacturing businesses.
The lab will connect with TitletownTech in Green Bay, which was co-founded in 2017 and is
funded in part by Microsoft and the Green Bay Packers. Microsoft
and the Packers are similarly partnering to help fund the new lab
in Milwaukee, which will be
staffed in part by Microsoft AI experts and venture experts from
TitletownTech.
"The Green Bay Packers are excited to continue our partnership
with Microsoft, which we first established with TitletownTech near
Lambeau Field, and now will expand and enhance as we collaborate
with the AI Co-Innovation Lab," said Mark
Murphy, President and CEO of the Green Bay Packers.
Creating a future-ready workforce
Third, reflecting the critical role of education and training in
AI transformation, Microsoft will partner with United Way
Wisconsin, United Way Racine, and other community partners, to
upskill more than 100,000 people across Wisconsin by 2030 on generative AI. This
curriculum will help train residents to use new applications,
including Microsoft Copilot, a suite of Microsoft AI services that
enhance productivity and creativity.
In addition, Microsoft will work with Gateway Technical College to train and certify
3,000 local AI software developers and provide opportunities for
1,000 local business, civic and government leaders to participate
in immersive bootcamps where they can learn how to effectively
adopt generative AI into their organizations.
These initiatives underscore Microsoft's commitment to equipping
the workforce with the tools needed for success in an increasingly
AI-driven economy.
Reinforcing the community's central role
And finally, a strong and vibrant economy isn't possible without
a strong and vibrant community. That's why Microsoft will invest in
a series of long-term local education and youth employment programs
to support the very community that is supporting us.
In partnership with the Racine Unified School District (RUSD),
Microsoft will work with Girls in STEM to expand its program to two
additional RUSD middle schools. This expansion will provide access
to STEM education for more than 500 middle school-aged girls over
the next five years. Working with Racine
County, Microsoft will support their Summer Youth Employment
Program, matching at least 125 young people (16-18 years old) with
local employers to receive soft skills and on the job training
annually.
Microsoft will also continue to distribute Equity Through
Technology and STEAM Grant Funds to the more than 12,000 people
across Racine County engaged in
United Way programs. Announced in 2023, these grants help local
nonprofits address disparities and support under-resourced
communities through the use of technology. Through investment and
partnerships with local community organizations, Microsoft will
look to contribute to a thriving and growing Southeastern Wisconsin, helping support a
community where opportunity is available for everyone.
These announcements build on Wisconsin's heritage of business innovation
and Microsoft's history of investment in the state. In 2017,
Microsoft announced TechSpark, an ecosystem building program to
accelerate economic opportunity and job creation now active in all
50 states. Microsoft has invested in the startup ecosystem in
Wisconsin through TitletownTech, a
partnership with the Green Bay Packers, in computer science and
digital skilling with local partners like gener8tor, in digital
inclusion with Microsoft Airband, and even local journalism with
the Northeast Wisconsin News Lab.
Investing in the environment
Mindful that the expansion of its business must be
done in a manner consistent with protecting the environment and
expanding affordable energy access for everyone, Microsoft has
partnered with National Grid to build a new 250 megawatt solar
project in Wisconsin that
will begin operating in 2027. This additional solar power means
that by 2027, Microsoft will exceed 4,000 megawatts of flowing into
the local grid – an amount of power equivalent to what's needed to
power more than 3 million homes. As part of this work, Microsoft
and National Grid will jointly contribute $20 million over the term of the agreement to a
community fund to support under-resourced communities and
communities disproportionately impacted by
pollution.
We are working to ensure water is managed responsibly. The new
datacenter will use recycled water by employing a closed loop
cooling system that does not require any additional water after
startup. This is a major step towards sustainability and
responsible resource management. A relatively small portion of the
facility will use water for cooling, but only when the temperature
outside is very warm.
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SOURCE Microsoft Corp.