Introduction
Amazon has unveiled one of the world's largest operational AI data centers in rural Indiana, transforming 1,200 acres of farmland into cutting-edge technology infrastructure in less than a year. The complex, known as Project Rainier, represents an $11 billion investment and is already fully operational, dedicated exclusively to training and running Anthropic's artificial intelligence models, the startup behind Claude.
While competitors like OpenAI, Meta, and Google announce future projects worth trillions of dollars, Amazon has demonstrated its ability to turn ambitious plans into concrete reality. Matt Garman, CEO of Amazon Web Services, summarized the process with an emblematic phrase: "Cornfields to data centers, almost overnight."
Project Rainier: Features and Scale of the AI Data Center
The site spans 1,200 acres near Lake Michigan and currently houses seven operational buildings, with two more campuses under construction. The final structure will comprise 30 buildings and require over 2.2 gigawatts of electricity, an amount sufficient to power more than 1.6 million homes.
Construction began in September 2024 and represents the largest capital investment in Indiana's history. Josh Sallabedra, the site lead, stated he has never seen Amazon move this fast in his 14 years of building data centers for the company.
The data center houses approximately 500,000 Trainium 2 chips, Amazon's custom processors designed specifically for artificial intelligence. Amazon expects to reach one million chips by the end of the year, representing what the company calls the largest known deployment of non-Nvidia compute in the world.
The Global Race for AI Data Centers
Big tech companies have pledged over $1 trillion toward AI data center projects, but many remain conceptual. Meta is planning a 2-gigawatt Hyperion site in Louisiana, while Google recently broke ground in West Memphis, Arkansas. OpenAI has announced Stargate, an ambitious plan to develop massive AI data centers.
Within a month, OpenAI committed to 33 gigawatts of new compute capacity, a project CEO Sam Altman estimates represents $1.4 trillion in upcoming obligations, with partners including Nvidia, AMD, Broadcom, and Oracle.
Amazon stands out thanks to decades of experience in large-scale logistics. From massive fulfillment centers to AWS data centers, the company has established deep relationships with state and local officials, using a proven playbook to set up AI infrastructure in record time.
The Strategic Partnership Between Amazon and Anthropic
Project Rainier was built exclusively to train and run Anthropic's models, the AI startup behind Claude and one of Amazon's largest cloud customers and AI partners. Mike Krieger, Anthropic's chief product officer, emphasized the importance of Amazon's ability to turn theoretical deals into concrete, usable infrastructure.
Anthropic's primary infrastructure runs on AWS, and it's one of the first major AI labs to train models on Amazon's custom silicon. Amazon has invested $8 billion in the startup as part of its broader AI strategy.
While Trainium chips can't match Nvidia's GPUs in raw performance, AWS claims its technology offers greater density and efficiency, allowing more chips per data center to deliver higher aggregate compute while reducing power and cooling costs.
"This is not some future project that we've talked about that maybe comes alive. This is running and training their models today."
Matt Garman, CEO of Amazon Web Services
Trainium 3 and Custom Chip Innovation
Amazon and Anthropic have co-designed silicon based on real-world training demands. Trainium 3, developed in collaboration with Anthropic, is set to launch in the coming months with the goal of better supporting frontier models, offering improved performance, superior latency characteristics, and reduced power consumption per operation.
Prasad Kalyanaraman, vice president of infrastructure services at AWS, highlighted the importance of being "able to control the stack all the way from the lower layers of the infrastructure" to "build the right set of capabilities that these model providers want."
Anthropic's Explosive Growth
Anthropic is moving at breakneck speed in the race to keep up with OpenAI and other competitors. The company's annual revenue run rate is nearing $7 billion. Its Claude chatbot powers more than 300,000 businesses, a 300-fold increase over the last two years.
The number of large enterprise customers, each generating more than $100,000 in annual revenue, has jumped nearly sevenfold in just a year. Claude Code, Anthropic's new agentic coding assistant, generated $500 million in annualized revenue within its first two months.
However, Anthropic isn't counting exclusively on Amazon. Last week, the company announced a partnership with Alphabet that gives Anthropic access to up to 1 million of Google's custom-designed Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), a deal worth tens of billions of dollars.
Impact on Local Indiana Communities
The site is located in a rural area of Indiana dotted with grain silos, transmission lines, and occasional farms. This quiet stretch has become a magnet for ambitious infrastructure projects: General Motors and Samsung are jointly building a $3.5 billion electric vehicle battery plant nearby.
At peak, more than 4,000 construction workers showed up daily in a town with a population of just 1,900. Local residents aren't necessarily thrilled with this trend. Marcy Kauffman, president of New Carlisle's town council, expressed concern about the continued loss of farmland.
Indiana Michigan Power expects peak power demand to more than double by the end of the decade, raising questions about household utility bills. One report found that monthly electricity bills in neighborhoods near these new sites are 267% higher than five years ago.
Expansion Strategies and Future Investments
Expansion shows no signs of slowing. Garman stated that Amazon will continue rapidly adding new capacity everywhere, building continuously based on customer needs.
The public unveiling of Rainier comes a day ahead of Amazon's third-quarter earnings report. Investors will listen closely for commentary on capital expenditures, but they also want to know how quickly capex projects will convert into revenue and, eventually, profit.
On Tuesday, Amazon announced 14,000 layoffs as part of a broader push to flatten management and reallocate resources to priority areas like AI and the company's Trainium chips.
Conclusion
Project Rainier demonstrates that Amazon doesn't just announce ambitious plans for the future of artificial intelligence but can execute them rapidly. With seven buildings already operational and half a million chips training Anthropic's models, the company has set a new standard for deploying large-scale AI infrastructure.
As the global race for AI data centers continues, with investments exceeding one trillion dollars, Amazon has shown that experience in logistics and institutional relationships can make the difference between promises and concrete results. The success of Project Rainier may represent only the beginning of a broader transformation of the U.S. technology landscape.
FAQ
What is Amazon's Project Rainier?
Project Rainier is an $11 billion AI data center located on 1,200 acres in Indiana, dedicated to training Anthropic's models using Amazon's custom Trainium chips.
How many AI chips does Amazon's Indiana data center house?
The data center currently houses approximately 500,000 Trainium 2 chips, with plans to reach one million chips by year-end, representing the world's largest non-Nvidia deployment.
How long did it take Amazon to build the AI data center?
Construction began in September 2024, and in roughly one year, seven buildings are already operational, transforming cornfields into advanced technology infrastructure.
What is the partnership between Amazon and Anthropic?
Amazon invested $8 billion in Anthropic and built Project Rainier exclusively to train and run Claude models on its AWS infrastructure with Trainium chips.
Are Amazon's Trainium chips better than Nvidia GPUs?
Trainium chips don't match Nvidia GPUs in raw performance, but AWS claims they offer greater density and energy efficiency, reducing overall operational costs.
How much power does Amazon's Indiana AI data center consume?
The complete site will require over 2.2 gigawatts of electricity, enough to power more than 1.6 million homes when all 30 buildings are operational.
How are local communities reacting to the Amazon data center?
Residents express concern about farmland loss and rising electricity bills, with increases up to 267% in neighborhoods near these sites.
Does Anthropic use only Amazon infrastructure for AI?
No, Anthropic also announced a partnership with Google to access up to 1 million TPUs, adopting a multi-chip strategy to meet high demand for its models.