Amazon is set to build a new artificial intelligence data center in Vicksburg, Mississippi, in 2026, investing $3 billion in the area and an additional $150,000 to fund a new Warren County educational grant, Gov. Tate Reeves announced on Thursday.
“The future of technology is being built right here in the heart of the ‘Digital Delta,’” he said in a Thursday press release from his office.
Amazon’s data centers power not only AI and machine learning technology, but also its cloud services and hosting services.
The corporate behemoth said on Thursday that the facility will create “at least 200 high-paying full-time jobs” at the data center itself and an additional 300 jobs coming to Warren County, including data center engineers, network specialists, security experts and operations managers.
“The decision by Amazon to build here was met with a number of challenges that the economic development team had to confront, but with perseverance and the full support of state, county and city leaders, all those hurdles were overcome,” Warren County Board of Supervisors President Kelle Barfield said in the governor’s press release. “The result will be a major boost to our local tax base, securing revenues for services that continue to make Warren County such an ideal place to live and do business.”
While state and local officials tout the economic potential the data center brings, watchdog groups have warned that the massive centers that are popping up across the country consume inordinate amounts of power and water, posing serious environmental dangers. Across the country, residents living near new data centers have faced rising energy costs.
Amazon is also creating the Warren County Community Fund, in which county residents, community groups, nonprofits, schools and other organizations can apply to receive grants of up to $10,000. Those funds can be used for STEM education, sustainability, the environment, digital skills, cultures, heritage, health and well-being, Amazon said in a Thursday news release.
Amazon noted it already has integrated training programs throughout the state in partnership with AccelerateMS, the Mississippi Development Authority, Hinds Community College and Holmes Community College. Those efforts have trained over 6,500 Mississippians and engaged with more than 1,000 leaders in education and the workforce, the company said.
Amazon has also implemented K-12 STEM programs in Madison County schools, Canton public schools and Jackson public schools that include opportunities like career awareness programs, STEM learning experience and technological workshops.
“We’re investing in the people and communities that make Mississippi strong, from training more than 6,500 Mississippians through our workforce development programs to our new Warren County Community Fund, which will address community needs like STEM education,” Amazon Chief Global Affairs and Legal Officer David Zapolsky said in a Thursday press release from the Gov. Tate Reeves’ office. “This is what responsible growth looks like—bringing cutting-edge technology infrastructure to America while ensuring local communities benefit directly from that investment.”
Vicksburg will host the second Amazon Web Services center in Mississippi, joining a campus in Madison County that Amazon invested $10 billion in in 2024. The governor’s press release says that it created “thousands of indirect jobs, through data center construction and the supply chain.”
Amazon Web Services has boosted its generative artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure by building data centers across the U.S. this year. The company hosts the world’s most commonly used cloud-based service, Amazon Web Services, which millions of customers rely on.
Reeves signed the Mississippi Major Economic Impact Act into law in 2024, which authorized $44 million in state incentives for the project. Warren County is also investing in the facility, and Entergy Mississippi promised to fulfill the center’s power needs for the long haul, the governor’s press release says.