Microsoft’s $7 billion total investment will help make Wisconsin home to the world’s most powerful AI datacenter
RACINE — Gov. Tony Evers today joined Microsoft officials and local leaders to announce that Microsoft is investing an additional $4 billion to further expand its planned datacenter campus in Mount Pleasant, raising Microsoft’s total investment in Wisconsin to more than $7 billion.
“Throughout our history, innovation has been the key to Wisconsin’s success, championing ideas of discoveries that have transformed people’s lives the world over, and this announcement is no different,” said Gov. Evers. “Microsoft’s investment puts Wisconsin on the very cutting edge of AI power, not just in the U.S., but throughout the world, while creating good, family-supporting jobs, growing our communities, and bolstering our critical biohealth, personalized medicine, and advanced manufacturing sectors here at home. We are grateful for Microsoft’s continued investment in our state and look forward to continuing to partner together to support Wisconsin’s workforce, economy, and communities.”
This comes as, in 2023, Gov. Evers announced Microsoft would invest billions of dollars to expand its datacenter footprint in Mount Pleasant, a move that would bring significant benefits to both the local community and the entire state. Last May, Microsoft officials confirmed that it will invest $3.3 billion by the end of 2026 in the Mount Pleasant datacenter, bringing thousands of union construction jobs to the area, as well as providing long-term employment opportunities over the next several years. The company is on track to complete construction and bring this first artificial intelligence (AI) datacenter online in early 2026 and has begun hiring full-time workers for the operation.
According to Microsoft officials, the company has also committed to building a second datacenter, which will be similar in size and scale and in the same area at a cost of approximately $4 billion by the end of 2028, raising Microsoft’s total investment in Wisconsin to over $7 billion. The datacenter campus in Mount Pleasant is part of a distributed training supercomputer spanning multiple locations.
“In the heart of the American Midwest, a modern marvel is rising,” said Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith. “We’re in the final phases of building the world’s most powerful AI datacenter in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin—part of a region forged by generations of hard work and ingenuity. This facility is more than a technological feat. It’s a promise to grow responsibly, invest deeply, and create opportunities for Wisconsin and for the nation.”
Construction of the first Microsoft datacenter has already provided family-sustaining jobs for almost 10,000 Wisconsin workers, including more than 3,000 construction workers during peak operations. Those workers have included electricians, plumbers, carpenters, pipefitters, structural iron and steel workers, concrete workers, and earth movers. The company indicated the second data center is expected to require a similar workforce.
In addition to the datacenter in Mount Pleasant, Microsoft has established a Microsoft AI Co-Innovation Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where hundreds of owners of small- and medium-sized businesses are learning how to use AI to improve productivity and remain competitive. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) is providing a $500,000 grant to support capital improvements necessary for the success of the lab. WEDC has led the state’s efforts to bring Microsoft to Wisconsin and ensure it has the trained workforce, site development, and community resources needed to grow.
“Microsoft’s commitment to Wisconsin demonstrates that our state can attract and support the most innovative, forward-looking businesses in the world,” said WEDC Secretary and CEO Missy Hughes. “This is a huge win, not just for the communities directly involved in this project, but for our entire state.”
In response to Microsoft’s commitment to make significant investments in Wisconsin, Gov. Evers signed bipartisan legislation in the 2023-25 Biennial Budget designed to put the state in a more competitive position for datacenter investments. In addition, Wisconsin’s designation as a Regional Tech Hub also acted as a catalyst for Microsoft’s decision to develop in the state. Additionally, earlier this year, Gov. Evers signed a bipartisan bill that creates exceptions for Tax Increment District (TID) Number 5 in the city of Port Washington and TID Number 10 in the city of Beaver Dam to support attracting new datacenters to these communities and to continue growing this multi-billion-dollar industry in the state.
Gov. Evers also previously signed an executive order creating the Governor’s Task Force on Workforce and Artificial Intelligence to study how AI will transform business, education, and other key sectors of the state economy. This task force submitted its final report and action plan in July 2024. Building on this work, the final 2025-27 Biennial Budget Gov. Evers signed into law in July invests $2 million to provide grants to technical college district boards to support the adoption and use of AI to prepare our workers to be ready for the future of AI.
An online version of this release is available here.
