AWS Project Rainier: $11B 2.2GW Anthropic AI Cluster Indiana
Status: Operational (Phase 1 Live Oct 2025; Phase 2 Construction 2026) | Location: New Carlisle indiana
Project Overview
Formally activated in October 2025, Project Rainier is AWS's flagship AI infrastructure project. Named after the 14,410-foot stratovolcano, the campus is the primary training ground for Anthropic's Claude models. Unlike most hyperscale sites, Rainier is built around AWS Trainium2 chips rather than NVIDIA GPUs; as of March 2026, the site operates over 500,000 Trainium2 chips, with plans to scale to 1 million. The facility uses "UltraClusters" (64 chips linked across servers) to provide five times the compute power of previous generations. Technically, the site is a pioneer in "outside air" cooling, operating from October to March with zero water usage. While the initial $11 billion investment is operational, a proposed $15 billion expansion (Project Rainier Phase 2) met local zoning pushback in late 2025, leading AWS to diversify into neighboring counties.
From an architectural standpoint, Project Rainier reflects AWS’s shift toward vertically integrated AI infrastructure, combining custom silicon, optimized networking, and purpose-built data center design. The deployment of Trainium2 enables tighter cost control over large-scale model training, reducing reliance on third-party GPU supply chains while improving performance-per-watt efficiency. The UltraCluster configuration is supported by high-bandwidth, low-latency networking fabric, allowing distributed training workloads to scale with minimal communication overhead. Additionally, AWS is investing heavily in substation upgrades and transmission interconnects to sustain the site’s multi-hundred-megawatt demand profile. The expansion strategy beyond the core campus indicates a hub-and-spoke model, where satellite facilities can absorb incremental capacity while mitigating regulatory risk. This approach not only accelerates deployment timelines but also positions AWS to maintain long-term leadership in AI infrastructure amid intensifying competition.
Quick Facts
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Project Name | AWS Project Rainier: $11B 2.2GW Anthropic AI Cluster Indiana |
| Location | New Carlisle indiana |
| Status | Operational (Phase 1 Live Oct 2025; Phase 2 Construction 2026) |
| Commissioning | Phase 1 (7 Buildings): Oct 2025; Full Buildout: 2030+ |
| Total IT Load | 2,250 MW (2.25 GW) |
| Total Capacity | 30 Planned Data Center Buildings (~6 Million Sq. Ft. total) |
| Tier Level | Tier IV (Optimized for Custom Silicon/AI Training) |
| Project Type | Custom Silicon AI Supercluster (Trainium-Native) |
City Profile
| Header | Details |
|---|
| City Name | New Carlisle |
| Population | ~5,700 |
| Urban Agglomeration | ~134,000 |
| City GDP | Not independently reported; included within Clark County economy (~$5–6 billion est.) |
| Per Capita Income | ~$28,000 – $32,000 |
| City Tier | Tier 4 |
| Key Strengths | Strategic proximity to Dayton; access to I-70 corridor; affordable land; growing interest in logistics and light industrial development |
Companies Involved
| Header | Details |
|---|
| Developer / Operator | Amazon Web Services |
| Strategic Infrastructure Partner | St. Joseph County / Indiana Economic Development Corp (IEDC). |
| Construction Contractor | Yates Construction / Internal AWS Infrastructure Teams. |
| MEP Engineering | AWS Global Design (Led by Ron Diamant). |
| Network Connectivity | AWS Neuron software stack; high-speed backbone to Northern Virginia nodes. |
| Power Infrastructure | 2.25 GW Capacity; Fed by Indiana Michigan Power high-voltage lines. |
Technical Specifications
| Header | Details |
|---|
| Power Capacity | 2,250 MW (2.25 GW) |
| UPS Redundancy | $N+1$ and $2N$ fault-tolerant power fabric with on-site Megapacks. |
| Cooling System | Evaporative cooling optimized for zero-water usage during 6 months of the year. |
| Connectivity | Ultra-low latency fiber linking "Project Rainier" to AWS’s global AI mesh. |
| PUE Target | < 1.15 |
| Energy Mix | 100% Renewable matching via 600MW of regional solar and wind farms. |
Milestones
| Header | Details |
|---|
| Announcement | April 25, 2024 |
| Construction Start | September 2024 |
| Phase 1 Go-Live | October 30, 2025 |
| Full Buildout | 2030 |
Investment Details
| Header | Details |
|---|
| Total Investment | $11 Billion (Current); $26 Billion (Targeted total) |
| Funding | Amazon Capital Expenditures. |