Tech giant Apple plans what it calls largest spending commitment in company history, an investment of more than $500 billion over the next four years in the United States as it focuses on artificial intelligence and server engineering.
The Cupertino, California-based company's investment includes a new advanced manufacturing factory in Houston, an academy in Detroit and expanding data center capacity in North Carolina, Iowa, Oregon, Arizona and Nevada, according to a statement. Apple also plans to bolster its research and development hubs across the country.
More details on the real estate plans, including addresses, were not immediately provided to CoStar News.
"We are bullish on the future of American innovation, and we're proud to build on our long-standing U.S. investments with this $500 billion commitment to our country's future," Apple CEO Tim Cook said in the statement.
Apple's new 250,000-square-foot advanced manufacturing facility in Houston is scheduled to open in 2026 at an undisclosed location. The facility is expected to assemble servers used for AI processing and cloud computing, officials said.
As one of the world’s largest publicly traded companies, Apple invests billions of dollars annually to expand facilities and develop new products. The tech firm's spending per year averaged more than $9.9 billion between 2020 and 2024, according to Seeking Alpha. Apple’s spending plans peaked in 2021 at more than $11 billion after Apple made a similar multiyear investment commitment of $430 billion in the U.S. over the next five years.
US manufacturing
The servers have previously been manufactured outside of the United States, according to the statement. Apple did not immediately respond to an interview request from CoStar News seeking additional information about where the servers are now being manufactured.
The new servers are energy efficient and reduce the power demand of Apple's data centers that already run on 100% renewable energy, the statement said.
Itziar Aguirre, Houston's director of market analytics for CoStar, said while Apple has not disclosed a location of this new manufacturing facility, she's seen northwest Houston become a magnet for such manufacturing hubs, including Texas Tissue and Coca-Cola.
"This is definitely a big deal for Houston," Aguirre said. "Apple doesn't have a major presence in Houston" except for retail locations. "Apple is aiming to significantly grow its U.S. manufacturing capabilities, and Houston is a big manufacturing hub."
Apple is also doubling its U.S. Advanced Manufacturing Fund that was created in 2017 to support innovation to $10 billion. The additional funds are earmarked to promote U.S. advanced manufacturing and skills development.
The expansion includes a multibillion-dollar commitment from Apple to produce advanced silicon in the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Fab 21 facility in Arizona. Apple is the largest customer of the facility that houses more than 2,000 workers to manufacture chips in the United States. The facility's mass production of chips began last month.
Supplier manfacturing
Apple's suppliers manufacture silicon in 24 factories in 12 states, including Arizona, Colorado, Oregon and Utah, for the firm's devices. Some of Apple's U.S. suppliers include Broadcom, Texas Instruments, Skyworks and Qorvo, according to the statement.
The company's U.S. Advanced Manufacturing Fund supports Apple-producing projects in 13 states, including Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Texas and Indiana.
Apple is also planning to expand its U.S. research and development hubs and hire about 20,000 new workers over the next four years, officials said.
The company plans to open a so-called Apple Manufacturing Academy in Detroit where Apple engineers and experts from top universities such as Michigan State will consult with small- and medium-sized businesses on AI and smart manufacturing techniques. The address of the new academy and its development timeline were not immediately disclosed by Apple.
The academy is expected to offer free in-person and online courses, with a skills development curriculum teaching workers project management and manufacturing process optimization. The courses are expected to help drive productivity, efficiency and quality in companies’ supply chains.
The new Michigan academy is part of Apple's investments in education and skills development for U.S. workers and students. The company’s New Silicon Initiative prepares students for careers in hardware engineering and silicon chip design at eight schools across the country. The program expanded to Georgia Tech last year and is expected to start at UCLA’s Center for Education of Microchip Designers this year.
Apple's overall $500 billion commitment is expected to touch on its work with thousands of suppliers across all 50 states. Apple currently supports more than 2.9 million U.S. jobs through direct employment, the company said.