Amazon has said they will invest $7.8 billion in Ohio data centres by 2029. This marks part of Ohio’s plans to become a technology hub. The planned investments were announced by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted. They wrote in a statement that the move “further cements Ohio as the heart of our nation’s technology and innovation”.
AWS: Investing Since 2016
The first AWS data centres in Ohio were built in 2016 and since that year the company has invested $6 billion in the state. Their operations in the region employ around 1000 people but with the new investment this is predicted to more than double. Several other sites in the region are being considered for development.
Roger Wehner, economic development director at AWS, spoke about workforce development and educational programs…
“that support the next generation of talent by emphasising collaborative, long-term public and private partnerships across the state.”
Ohio: The Tech State
This $7.8 billion investment is the second largest private sector investment in Ohio’s history. The largest was a $20 billion plan for Intel to build a chip manufacturing plant.
Ohio really is a tech hub. Facebook and Google have data centres in the state. Honda and LG Energy Solution are building a $3.5 billion battery plant there. And there’s a strong workforce coming out of Ohio State University where a new $110 million Centre of Software Innovation is underway. Could Ohio be the next Silicon Valley?
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