Amazon bought part of George Washington University in Virginia

Amazon Data Services is acquiring George Washington University's (GWU) Virginia Science and Technology Campus for $427 million. The transaction is part of the rapid expansion of infrastructure needed to develop artificial intelligence.

The GWU student newspaper reported that uspeech allows Amazon to build a data center or IT infrastructure in Ashburn, Virginia. The company intends to invest until 2040 $35 billion to expand data centers in the state. This is in addition to an identical amount allocated through 2020 for the development of such facilities in northern Virginia.

The university, headquartered in Washington, D.C., said the agreement will allow it to maintain academic activities on its Virginia campus for up to five years. She added that the sale is “part of a broader strategy to strengthen (the university's) long-term financial health and invest more deeply in our academic mission and community.”

According to the university authorities, this does not remove the sources of problems that cause the structural deficit, i.e. a permanent imbalance between the university's fixed expenses and its stable, predictable revenues.

Last year, GWU took cost-saving measures, including reducing part-time positions, limiting business trips, reducing investment expenses and temporarily reducing the remuneration of management staff. However, the university will probably have to further reduce the scale of its operations to stabilize its financial situation.

As Reuters highlighted, spending by technology companies is rising rapidly as demand for AI software, chips and computing infrastructure grows. This year, companies have committed to investments worth at least USD 630 billion, and some investors fear the emergence of a speculative bubble fueled by the development of artificial intelligence.

Andrzej Dobrowolski from New York (PAP)

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