Amazon Web Services announced on October 2, 2026 the launch of the Built Together program, committing over $1 billion over five years to US communities hosting its data centers. The program targets education with free community college access for approximately 300,000 students, energy affordability with $700 in annual savings per household, and water with over 8 billion gallons returned annually. This announcement comes as more than 100 moratoriums on data center construction are under consideration across the United States. CEO Matt Garman compared the expansion to the post-World War II interstate highway system, emphasizing it is funded by private investment rather than taxpayer money. The amount remains modest compared to Amazon’s infrastructure spending: $276 billion in data centers from 2011 through 2025, and an estimated $220 billion in capital expenditures for 2026 alone.
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