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State officials are making a concerted effort to position Louisiana as a leader in the realm of AI—and those efforts appear to be paying off.
Early this month, it was announced that Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is planning to build a $10 billion AI data center in Richland Parish. Just days later, it was revealed that Hut 8, a bitcoin miner headquartered in Miami, is planning to build a similarly massive AI data center in West Feliciana Parish. And officials have hinted that more announcements are on the horizon.
But what is it exactly that’s making Louisiana so attractive to these out-of-state tech giants?
Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Susan Bourgeois tells Daily Report that there are three key factors to consider:
- Land availability: Large-scale projects like data centers require large swaths of land with reliable access to infrastructure. Louisiana has ample land suitable for such projects.
- Energy capacity: Speed to market is something that’s highly valued in the tech industry, and Louisiana’s energy providers are capable of bringing additional power generation online rapidly.
- Workforce readiness: While Louisiana’s workers may not yet be trained in emerging fields like AI, LED’s partnership with the Louisiana Community and Technical College System enables the rapid development of tailored training programs to equip them with the skills they need to succeed in such industries.
“There are other states that have some of those things, but not all of those things,” Bourgeois says. “They might have one or two of the three, but Louisiana is in a sweet spot.”
When asked how LED is working to ensure Louisiana’s continued viability as a tech hub, Bourgeois points to her organization’s proactive approach to AI as a critical driver of future growth.
“AI is the future of technology as we know it, and everyone’s trying to get ahead of this thing,” she says. “What folks in Louisiana should both know and hopefully be very proud of is that we’re not sitting back being reactionary to this.”
More specifically, Bourgeois envisions a near future in which Louisiana serves as something of a “lab” for AI application. That’s because the state’s existing expertise in fields like agriculture, defense and water management provides a strong foundation for testing and implementing innovative AI solutions that can address real-world challenges.
“No one’s out ahead of AI yet because it’s all happening so quickly,” Bourgeois says. “Louisiana is very much putting a ‘Why not us?’ stake in the ground because we really are well positioned to be a leader in that space.”
