In the 19th century, the destiny of Newport, Wales, was forged by the Industrial Revolution’s demand for coal and steel. Today, this city is betting its future on a new transformation, hoping to tap into the $3 trillion global spending spree on artificial intelligence infrastructure.
On the site of a former radiator factory, Microsoft is building a massive datacenter, one of the thousands being built globally to power AI tools like ChatGPT. For local leaders like Dimitri Batrouni, the city council leader, this project represents a clear choice: “Do you worry about the past and try to bring steel back… or do you embrace the future?”
This single datacenter, costing hundreds of millions of dollars, is a symbol of the “incredible” spending happening worldwide. Tech giants like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon are spending $750bn in the next two years on this infrastructure, driving their valuations to historic highs. Nvidia, whose chips power these datacenters, is now a $5tn company.
The project is already creating a local impact. Mike O’Connell, a construction safety specialist native to Newport, has returned to his birthplace to work on the site. His teenage grandson is starting an electrical apprenticeship there, representing a “generational employment opportunity” for the area.
While global analysts debate whether this $3tn spending spree is a sustainable boom or a debt-fueled bubble, the sentiment in Newport is one of optimism. They are betting that these datacenters are not just for speculative AI but are “general purpose technology,” powering everything from email to Zoom calls, and securing their community’s place in the economy of the future.