In the largest private-sector investment in Pennsylvania history, Amazon is plowing $20 billion into two data center campuses to boost its artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing capabilities, as the company looks to help solidify America's technological edge over competitors in China and elsewhere.
The investment by Amazon Web Services (AWS) will create 1,250 high-skilled jobs spanning engineering, cybersecurity and network operations, the company said in a Monday announcement. It will also lead to thousands of construction jobs, and spur broader economic growth through demand for services and suppliers within the data center industry.
One campus will be located next to the Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Salem Township, Luzerne County, while the other will be located in Falls Township, Bucks County, where a US Steel facility was formerly located.
"Amazon’s multi-billion-dollar investment in Pennsylvania reinforces our dedication to advancing AI innovation while creating lasting economic opportunities in the state," according to the company's chief global affairs and legal officer, David Zapolsky.
As the Epoch Times notes further, to help meet the demand for skilled workers, Pennsylvania will allocate $10 million toward workforce development programs tailored to data center construction and operations, including vocational training and community college partnerships, Shapiro’s office said in an announcement.
Speaking at a press conference in Berwick on Monday, Shapiro said the investment is a generational opportunity to transform Pennsylvania’s economic future, adding that Amazon’s announcement is “just the beginning,” with additional data center projects under consideration in the state.
“From coal and steel, to server farms and fiber optic cables, Pennsylvania is poised to power our future,” Shapiro said. “A future where America dominates the next frontier of AI and doesn’t cede this ground to China or any other nation.”
The announcement comes as the Trump administration intensifies efforts to counter China’s push for global tech supremacy. CIA Deputy Director Michael Ellis recently said that President Donald Trump’s intelligence team is prioritizing the denial of any strategic advantage to China—particularly in advanced technologies AI, semiconductors, and quantum computing.
Calling China an “existential threat,” Ellis said the CIA is focusing increasingly on the tech race. He said that a decisive technological advantage is essential to confronting the Chinese Communist Party’s malign actions against the United States.
The intelligence community’s latest threat assessment underscores these concerns, identifying China as “the most active and persistent cyber threat” to U.S. government systems and critical infrastructure.
In the event of a potential conflict with the United States—most notably over Taiwan—China is likely to carry out cyber offensives designed to paralyze U.S. command infrastructure, stir public confusion, and obstruct the swift deployment of troops, the report warns.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has ramped up efforts to defend U.S. interests from foreign cyberthreats.
Trump signed an executive order on June 6 aimed at overhauling cybersecurity policy, directing agencies to adopt secure software development practices, improve defenses against hijacking of network interconnections, and accelerate readiness for advanced cryptography.
