Amazon.com ‘s cloud computing unit has announced plans to invest $11 billion in projects to build data centers in Indiana.
For the mentioned region of the United States, the specified volume of financial injections will be the largest investment. It is expected that at least 1,000 new jobs will be added as a result of investments in the construction of data centers in Indiana.
The announcement by Amazon Web Services (AWS) regarding financial injections, made on Thursday, April 25, is based on the company’s already strong presence in the mentioned region. The giant of the area of online retail currently has 26,000 full- and part-time employees in Indiana.
Data centers will be built in St. Joseph County, located in the north-central part of the specified region. These facilities will be outfitted with computer equipment used for cloud computing and generative artificial intelligence. Amazon, whose ownership structure also includes the best American delivery service, did not say exactly how many data centers will be built in Indiana.
Over the past year, large technology companies have been actively building the mentioned functional facilities. Data centers are necessary for the operation of such artificial intelligence apps as, for example, ChatGPT from OpenAI. This tendency is driven by the trend that companies are trying to capitalize on what is expected to be the main driving force behind the growth of the machine intelligence industry. It is worth noting that without mighty computing power, the functioning of artificial intelligence systems is virtually impossible. Against the background of the rapid increase in the number of AI-based products and services, the need for data centers is obvious.
The Indiana Economic Development Corp (IEDC) will provide sales tax for AWS data center exemptions for eligible capital investments for 50 years. The IEDC has also agreed to offer several performance-based incentives. In this case, it implies $18.3 million in headcount-based tax credits, up to $5 million in training grants, and up to $55 million in Hoosier Business Investment tax credits.
Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb says that Amazon has long been an important economic partner of the state. He also welcomed AWS.
Roger Wehner, AWS director of economic development, says that data centers in Indiana will create numerous well-paying jobs. Also in this context, it was noted that the mentioned facilities will burgeon the growing technology sector of the mentioned region. Moreover, data centers will make a significant contribution to Indiana’s economy, which nowadays is on an upward trajectory.
AWS will provide up to $7 million to support improvements to the road infrastructure along State Road 2, which will surround the data centers.
Currently, there is no information on the timing of the construction of data centers. Carl Baxmeyer, president of the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners says that the relevant projects will be implemented over the next decade. This information has not been officially confirmed or denied.
