Microsoft to Invest $4 Billion in Second Wisconsin Data Center

The Mount Pleasant data center will be strategically equipped with hundreds of thousands of Nvidia Blackwell GB200 GPUs, purpose-built to handle demanding artificial intelligence workloads. This positions the facility as a critical hub for AI training and inference, directly addressing the escalating demand for cloud-based AI processing power.

This investment comes as cloud infrastructure providers globally are scrambling to bolster capacity, driven by the explosive growth of AI applications. The integration of AI features is now a pivotal competitive differentiator for major software players, from Adobe to Salesforce, all vying for customer attention in the burgeoning AI landscape. Microsoft’s Azure cloud, a foundational element for OpenAI’s ChatGPT (used by over 700 million people), underscores the immense pressure on cloud providers to deliver robust and scalable AI infrastructure.

Microsoft President and Vice Chair Brad Smith, speaking at a town hall in Wisconsin, emphasized the company’s commitment to sustainability. Microsoft intends to match its energy consumption with carbon-free energy contributions, mitigating the potential environmental impact of the energy-intensive data centers. A 250-megawatt solar farm under construction approximately 150 miles northwest of the facilities will play a significant role in this effort. While the combined power requirements of the two data centers are projected to exceed 900 megawatts, Microsoft aims to ensure that its operations do not inflate electricity costs for local residents.

Notably, the first data center occupies land previously earmarked for a Foxconn manufacturing plant. While its annual water usage is estimated at 2.8 million gallons, this is substantially less than the 7 million gallons per day that Foxconn was originally permitted to consume, addressing previous local concerns about resource utilization.

“It will deliver 10x the performance of the world’s fastest supercomputer today, enabling AI training and inference workloads at a level never before seen,” stated Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

The second data center, projected to be of a similar scale to the first, is anticipated to begin operations in 2027 or later. The company took time “to think through exactly what we would build for phase two, how we would build it,” said Smith, indicating a strategic approach to ensure future capacity meets evolving technological demands.

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers highlighted the significance of the investment, stating that the state will soon host the largest concentration of GPUs under one roof, cementing Wisconsin’s position as a major player in the AI revolution.

Microsoft’s strategic expansion in Wisconsin is part of a broader trend of significant investments in AI infrastructure. These investments reflect the escalating demand for AI processing power and the competitive race among cloud providers to offer cutting-edge AI capabilities. The company’s focus on sustainability also underscores a growing awareness of the environmental impact of data centers and a commitment to responsible growth in the cloud computing sector.