Microsoft begins limited operations at first Wisconsin data center facility

Microsoft has reportedly begun limited operations at its first Wisconsin data center in Mount Pleasant, marking a shift from construction into early operations. The local NBC affiliate reported that the company had told them it had “has started bringing equipment online” and that commissioning activities will continue in the weeks ahead as it works with local partners toward full operation. 

The labor footprint appears to already be substantial. Wisconsin Public Radio shared that Microsoft said it had already hired about 375 full-time workers for the site and expects to add another 125 for the first facility. The same outlet pointed out that company CEO Satya Nadella had shared the possibility of the facility opening soon on his social media accounts, while the company had begun advertising roles attached to the facility on its own site. 

There is a second building still under construction, underscoring the scale of what has become one of Wisconsin's biggest technology and construction projects as we said on these pages back in September, 2025 when it was reported to be the largest AI-related data center in the world. 

That story highlighted the possibility of 3,000 workers for the construction phases, with 800 to be employed once both facilities were open. 

These updates come as Microsoft and other cloud providers race to add data center capacity for artificial intelligence and cloud services across the nation. The Wisconsin campus as part of a broader AI infrastructure push across the Midwest, while Microsoft has previously portrayed the project as a major new computing hub. “This is about building a distributed network that can act as a virtual supercomputer for tackling the world’s biggest challenges in ways that you just could not do in a single facility,” Microsoft general manager focusing on Azure infrastructure, Alistair Speirs, said on the company’s blog back in November.The company has not yet shared when the first facility may reach full operations.