Amazon Web Services (AWS) plans to invest around $11 billion in data centers in Georgia.
Revealed in a blog post this week, the company's infrastructure investment in the state will be used to support growing demand for cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and is expected to create at least 550 new jobs. Precise details of how of the money will be used wasn't shared.
"We are delighted to expand our infrastructure into Georgia with this planned multibillion-dollar investment, which we expect to create more than 550 well-paying jobs and drive significant economic growth for the state," said Roger Wehner, vice president of economic development at AWS. "State and local leaders have cultivated an environment that enables companies like AWS to make bold, forward-looking investments.
Amazon - AWS' parent company - has invested $18.5bn in Georgia since 2010. The newly announced investment will be concentrated in Butts and Douglas Counties.
Dr. Romona Jackson Jones, Douglas County Commission chairwoman, said the news marked a "historic day" for the county. “We are pleased to welcome AWS to bring the most secure, resilient, and advanced cloud computing technology to the county, and with it hundreds of high-paying, high-tech jobs that will benefit our community and our citizens for the long term," Jackson Jones said.
Russ Crumbley, chairman of the Butts County Board of Commissioners, added: “[The] investment will be the most significant in Butts County history, and represents a truly collaborative effort for more than a year by the Butts County Board of Commissioners, the Development Authority of Butts County, the Butts County Water and Sewer Authority, and the Butts County School System. Each entity worked diligently with AWS to ensure that the investment - which will enable significant infrastructure improvements throughout our community - will benefit the citizens of Butts County for decades to come."
In October 2024, AWS purchased 118 acres in Douglas County, just outside of Atlanta, for $37 million. This was the second land acquisition in Georgia made by the company that year, with Amazon also buying around 430 acres in Covington, some 40 miles east of Atlanta, at the turn of the year.
Covington, in Newton County, is to the north of Butts County. At the time of purchase, Amazon declined to comment if the Covington site would be used for a data center.
In February 2024, AWS launched a Local Zone in Atlanta, Georgia, with upgraded compute infrastructure options. Local Zones act as Edge locations to host applications that require low latency to end-users or on-premises installations and are often in locations where AWS does not have a cloud region.
Microsoft is also building several data centers in the Atlanta area, including in East Point and Palmetto in Fulton County, and Douglasville, Douglas County, having announced plans for a Georgia cloud region in 2021.
Google has existing data centers in the state, though does not have a cloud region in Georgia.
Several major data center developments are underway in the Atlanta region, including by the likes of Stream, Stack, DC Blox, and TA Realty. In a September report from JLL, Atlanta was named as the top market for colocation capacity under construction.
