North Carolina data center is part of Apple’s $500 billion expansion plan across the US
North Carolina is part of Apple’s $500 billion U.S. expansion plans.
Apple will expand facilities in nine states over the next four years and create 20,000 jobs, the tech giant said in a news release Monday. With the company’s largest ever financial commitment, it is focusing on artificial intelligence, silicon engineering and skills development.
The plan includes expanding its data center capacity in North Carolina, as well as in Iowa, Oregon, Arizona and Nevada.
Apple helped create a data center corridor in Maiden, the Catawba County town where it set up operations in 2009, as well as in nearby Rutherford, Cleveland and Caldwell counties. Maiden is about 37 miles northwest of Charlotte.
Scott Millar, president of Catawba County Economic Development Corp., said Monday that the company has not yet reached out with specifics about its plan.
“They’ve invested over $4 billion here and have more real estate they could develop if they choose,” Millar said.
Apple is growing its workforce in North Carolina at the data center and corporate offices in Raleigh, the company told The Charlotte Observer late Monday. Apple did not provide details about its expansion plans, how much it plans to invest or the jobs impact in North Carolina.
Apple’s expansion plan
Along with North Carolina, Apple’s expansion plan includes plans in Michigan, Texas, California, Arizona, Nevada, Iowa, Oregon and Washington.
Apple outlined the following plans:
▪ Building a 250,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Houston for servers to support Apple Intelligence, a personal intelligence system that helps users write. The factory will create “thousand of jobs.” It is expected to open next year.
▪ Double its U.S. Advanced Manufacturing Fund created in 2017 from $5 billion to $10 billion, and create a training academy in Michigan for research and development in fields such as silicon engineering.
▪ Accelerate research and development hiring about 20,000 people focused on silicon engineering, software development, and AI and machine learning. Apple has 24 U.S. factories producing silicon Apple products.
▪ Open an Apple Manufacturing Academy in Detroit. Apple engineers working with local college experts will consult with small- and medium-sized businesses on implementing AI and smart manufacturing techniques. Apple also will offer free in-person and online courses, with a skills development curriculum that teaches workers skills like project management and manufacturing process optimization.
More about Apple in North Carolina
Apple also plans to invest $552 million in a Raleigh-area campus but last year delayed the project for four years, The News & Observer in Raleigh reported. Site plans showed the campus would include six buildings and a parking garage —totaling nearly 900,000 square feet on either side of N.C. 540.
In 2021, Apple said it would spend another $448 million expanding its data center in Catawba County but not create new jobs there.
Apple isn’t the only tech company expanding in North Carolina.
In October, tech giant Google confirmed it is considering expanding its Caldwell County data center, and local leaders cleared the way this week for that $600 million investment by approving incentives for the project.
Google’s proposed expansion is on about 60 acres in Lenoir, adjacent to its data center campus at 708 Lynhaven Drive. It could create 30 full-time jobs.
Lenoir, a city with over 18,000 residents, is near Hickory and about 75 miles northwest of Charlotte.
In 2022, Microsoft said it would invest at least $1 billion in Catawba County by building four data centers in Conover, Hickory and Maiden over 10 years and create at least 50 jobs.
This is a developing story
This story was originally published February 24, 2025 at 10:22 AM.
