Microsoft to build AI hub on Foxconn land it previously owned in Wisconsin

Microsoft to build AI hub on Foxconn land it previously owned in Wisconsin

Microsoft said it is pouring $3.3 billion into building a data hub in Wisconsin aimed at training workers and manufacturers on how to best use artificial intelligence.

President Joe Biden will appear at the site in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, on Wednesday to highlight the administration’s efforts to invest in American job growth.

The news comes six years after the Trump administration announced a $10 billion investment by technology manufacturer Foxconn — with the promise of bringing 13,000 jobs to the area — on the same Wisconsin land, a plan that never materialized.

The new center aims to create 2,300 union construction jobs and 2,000 permanent jobs over time, according to Microsoft.

The company told CNN it will use the AI center to train about 100,000 employees. It also plans to open a lab on the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee campus to help companies and manufacturers incorporate the technology into their businesses.

Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella earned a master’s degree in computer science at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, according to his company profile.

In his speech Wednesday, Biden plans to continue pointing the finger at Trump for the failed project, according to a White House official.

The president’s visit to the key battleground state will also give the White House an opportunity to try to highlight some of the key achievements of the Biden administration’s first term — and in particular, funding from legislation like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act and the so-called “Chips Act,” which invests in semiconductor chip manufacturing in the United States, which will boost the Badger State.

In a fact sheet released by the White House ahead of the president’s visit, the administration said that 177,000 jobs have been added in Wisconsin — 4,000 specifically in Racine — since the president took office in 2021.

Last year, Biden signed an executive order on AI aimed at getting entrepreneurs access to technical assistance and resources, helping small businesses commercialize AI discoveries, and expanding grants for AI research in areas such as health care and climate change.

The White House also introduced an order in 2023 to require developers of AI systems to share the results of their security tests with the federal government before they are released to the public.

Microsoft’s move comes as governments seek to monitor and regulate the risks of artificial intelligence. In March, Biden urged Congress during his State of the Union address to pass legislation to regulate artificial intelligence, including banning “AI voice impersonation and more.” He said lawmakers need to “seize the promise of AI and protect us from its dangers,” warning of the technology’s risks to Americans if left unchecked.

Beyond AI, Wisconsin sees funding trickle toward futuristic industries. The state received $6.9 billion from Biden’s “Investing in America” agenda for infrastructure and clean energy.