RICHMOND COUNTY, N.C. — Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) has announced plans to develop a new, $10 billion cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) innovation campus in Richmond County, roughly 80 miles east of Charlotte.
According to the Seattle-based company, this marks one of the largest capital investment announcements in the history of the state.
Upon completion, the campus will house data centers with computer servers, data storage drives, networking equipment and other technology infrastructure used for cloud computing capabilities and generative AI.
The project will be situated at one of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina’s Selectsite Readiness Program sites, which are designed to accommodate industries like AI and advanced manufacturing. Specific details about the site and construction timelines were not released.
Amazon reports that the investment will create at least 500 new jobs, adding to the more than 192,000 tech professionals already in the state, as well as thousands of jobs in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) data center supply chain.
“Amazon’s $10 billion investment in North Carolina underscores our commitment to driving innovation and advancing the future of cloud computing and AI technologies,” says David Zapolsky, chief global affairs and legal officer with Amazon. “This investment will position North Carolina as a hub for cutting-edge technology, create hundreds of high-skilled jobs and drive significant economic growth. We look forward to partnering with state and local leaders, local suppliers and educational institutions to nurture the next generation of talent.”
Amazon has invested $12 billion in North Carolina since 2010, supporting 24,000 full- and part-time jobs. The e-commerce giant recently opened a fulfillment center in Kannapolis with plans to open four more last-mile facilities in Jacksonville, Mount Airy, Southern Pines and Tarboro. Amazon is also underway on two solar and wind farms in the state.
In January, Amazon announced a similar, $11 billion investment in Georgia, with plans to expand the infrastructural capabilities of AWS in the state, also in support of cloud computing and generative AI technologies.
Amazon’s stock price closed on Wednesday, June 4 at $207.23 per share, up from $181.28 a year ago, a 14.3 percent increase.
— Hayden Spiess