STURTEVANT – It’s been a busy start to 2024 for the Joe Biden administration, at least when it comes to visiting America’s Dairyland. Today, the focus was on technology, specifically a major investment in an up-and-coming Microsoft investment in Racine County.
President Biden’s fourth visit to Wisconsin in 2024 coincided with the official announcement that Microsoft will invest 3.3 billion dollars to build a new artificial intelligence data center in Racine County that the administration says will eventually create 2,000 permanent jobs. The project will expand Microsoft’s footprint in a quickly developing area of Southeast Wisconsin, as construction continues on a more than $1 billion data center covering around 215 acres in Mount Pleasant.
“It’s going to be one of the most powerful A.I. systems in the world.” said Biden during the event at Gateway Tech Wednesday. “In addition, we’re providing a pipeline for training for new jobs right here at Gateway Technical College to train and certify 200 students a year to fill high-demand, good paying jobs in data and I.T. here in Racine.” That pipeline will also include outreach to nearby high school students in Mt. Pleasant.
Much was made about another major tech plan for the region: the highly-touted Foxconn development which never came to be. At that project’s 2018 groundbreaking ceremony, then-President Donald Trump had proclaimed it the “eighth wonder of the world”.
“He came here with your Senator Ron Johnson, literally holding a golden shovel…you kidding me?” said Biden. “Look what happened! They dug a hole with those golden shovels, and then they fell into it…Foxconn turned out to be just that: a con…on my watch, we make promises and we keep promises!”
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“There was a recent quote that said ‘Manufacturing has begun returning home’…Folks, you’re damn right that’s what we’re doing in Wisconsin,” said Governor Tony Evers, while also recognizing the growth of Green Bay’s own tech sector Titletown Tech. Notably, Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy was in attendance today.
Also in attendance was Microsoft President Brad Smith, who shared with the audience his connection to Southeast Wisconsin. “From the age of 9 to 14, I lived just three miles from here. Our family dog came from the farm that’s now part of the land on which we are building this data center.”
Smith told me Microsoft has plans in the region beyond their current footprint, but wouldn’t divulge what those plans are. “What we announced today is what we’re going to do between now and the end of 2026. And then we hope to do more. But we won’t announce things until we’re ready to do them.”
Smith added that the region is destined to be a tech hub for decades to come because “it has land, it has some infrastructure that came from the Foxconn project and we at Microsoft benefit from that…but the most important thing is the people. Everybody should know that the President of the Village of Mt. Pleasant is just as important to this project as the President of the United States.”
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