The US government is demanding that tech companies make more commitments to building their businesses in the country. So today, Apple outlined its plans for the next 4 years, during which it plans to spend $500 billion on manufacturing, engineering and education.
The US government is demanding that tech companies make more commitments to building their businesses in the country. So today, Apple outlined its plans for the next 4 years, during which it plans to spend $500 billion on manufacturing, engineering and education.
Among the big projects are a new factory in Houston to produce servers that support Apple Intelligence AI; doubling the value of Apple’s Advanced Manufacturing Fund in the US to $10 billion; a new academy in Michigan to train people to work in next-generation factories; and more R&D, TechCrunch reports.
A new 250,000-square-foot AI server manufacturing facility in Houston will take over the production of services that have been produced in other countries. Groundbreaking will begin this year, with construction expected to be completed by 2026.
«Apple teams designed the servers to be incredibly energy efficient, reducing the energy consumption of Apple’s data centers,» Apple said, although it also claimed that they already run on renewable energy sources.
Some of this is not news. Apple has worked with thousands of suppliers across the U.S. for years in areas like chip manufacturing—currently 24 factories in 12 states—and also directly employs people in the country. According to a recent report, Apple employs 164,000 people worldwide. The company doesn’t say how many of those people work in the U.S. Today, the company said it plans to hire 20,000 more people over the next four years. But again, it doesn’t specify whether those people will work in the U.S. or elsewhere.
«We are confident in the future of American innovation, and we are proud to continue our long-standing investment in the United States, investing $500 billion in our country’s future,» said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, in a statement. «From doubling our Advanced Manufacturing Fund to creating cutting-edge technologies in Texas, we are excited to expand our support for American manufacturing. And we will continue to work with people and companies across the country to help write an extraordinary new chapter in the history of American innovation.»
Apple did not specify how much it has allocated to educational initiatives aimed at training its workforce, although spending on building factories or investing in cutting-edge research and development is likely to be significant.
The first attempt in this vein will be the new Apple Manufacturing Academy in Detroit, where «Apple engineers, along with experts from leading universities like Michigan State,» will work in consultation with small and medium-sized businesses to help them implement «artificial intelligence and smart manufacturing technologies.»
