Amazon Web Services Vows to Spend $1 Billion Over Five Years in US to Allay Data Center Anxieties

06:09 AM EDT, 10/02/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Amazon (AMZN) Web Services said it would invest more than $1 billion over the next five years in American cities and towns hosting its data centers in an attempt to bolster popular support for the infrastructure and address water and electricity issues, the company said Friday. Amazon's "Built Together" program will include money for education, job training, energy affordability, water, and other local priorities, Amazon Web Services Chief Executive Matt Garman said in a lengthy blog post. Garman sought to defend data centers in the face of mounting public opposition. He voiced dismay that there were more than 100 proposed data center moratoriums under consideration. "There is urgency to this data center buildout because we aren't the only country that sees the benefits of AI for the economy and national security, and the countries that lead in AI will shape it and get the most from it," he wrote.