Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced an $11 billion investment in Indiana to build data centers, making it the state's largest capital investment. The project is expected to create at least 1,000 jobs. AWS already employs 26,000 full- and part-time staff in Indiana.
The new data centers will be located in St Joseph County, north-central Indiana. These facilities will house computer equipment to support cloud computing and generative artificial intelligence. Amazon did not specify the exact number of data centers to be built.
Major technology companies, including Amazon, have been rapidly constructing data centers to support applications like OpenAI's ChatGPT. These investments aim to capitalize on the anticipated growth in the industry.
The IEDC will provide AWS with data center sales tax exemptions for eligible capital investments over a 50-year term. Additionally, performance-based incentives include:
Up to $18.3 million in headcount-based tax credits
Up to $5 million in training grants
Up to $55 million in Hoosier Business Investment tax credits
Governor Eric Holcomb expressed enthusiasm about the investment, stating, "Amazon has long been an important economic partner in Indiana, and we are excited to welcome AWS."
