Recent updates
Why AWS is proud to call Virginia home
Since its launch in 2006, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has been constructing and operating data centers in Virginia. The facilities are a key part of the infrastructure needed to provide cloud computing power to customers. From 2011–2021, we've invested $51.9 billion in the state—supporting local jobs, generating economic growth, providing skills training and education, and unlocking opportunities for local businesses and suppliers. In January, AWS announced that it plans to invest an additional $35 billion in Virginia to establish multiple data center campuses by 2040. We’re committed to the community and proud to call Virginia home.
Read more about how we work with the local community in northern Virgina.
June 7, 2023
Learn about AWS’s long-term commitment to Virginia
April 21, 2023
How AWS Think Big Spaces help kids around the world see their own far-reaching futures
February 14, 2023
Amazon teams up with Virginia high school students to inspire climate careers
December 8, 2022
Amazon doubles down on computer science education in our HQ2 community in Virginia
October 12, 2022
AWS launches 3 free training programs to build tech skills and cloud computing careers
August 29, 2022
AWS Girls’ Tech Day in Virginia (and beyond)
April 28, 2020
Amazon donates $3.9 million to expand computer science education in Virginia
Find out more about our investments in northern Virginia and discover more about our impact in communities where we have data centers.
How AWS helped an Afghan refugee rebuild his life in Northern Virginia
When Muhammad Fardeen and his family were forced to leave Afghanistan, they began a new life in Virginia. His talent for problem solving landed him a job at an Amazon Web Services data center that’s now paving a path for his future. Read more about Fardeen's story.
AWS employees volunteer at Northern Virginia’s Hunger Resource Center
Our AWS employees are connected to their communities in lots of ways. For Mishtee Chatterjee, director of infrastructure operations at an AWS data center in northern Virginia, that means volunteering at the Hunger Resource Center, which distributes food to more than 400 area families a month.
Chatterjee is one of a number of AWS employees who volunteer at the hunger center, a part of the Northern Virginia Family Service. “It helps me really feel connected,” Chatterjee said about sorting donated food. “I have a family, I have two kids. They're growing up here in the community and I want to set a good example for them to be a better neighbor and to serve the community as they are growing up.”
How small businesses grow alongside AWS in Northern Virginia
When a data center opens, it creates new jobs and opportunities in the surrounding areas, supporting local businesses and drawing in new residents. For example, AWS relies on more than 100 Virginia businesses to support the construction and operation of data centers. And more than 8,800 AWS employees in Virginia means more business for Jimmy Cirrito, owner of Jimmy’s Old Town Tavern in Herndon, Virginia.
“Coming from a tavern owner, the most expensive thing we have in here is an empty seat," Cirrito said. "We want to keep these bar stools and these chairs filled as often as we can. It helps to have people moving into the town or coming here to work that want to come out.”
AWS-Sponsored Climate Resilience Fellowship kicks off at Amazon's HQ2
We hosted participants of the AWS sponsored Halcyon Climate Resilience in Latin America and the Caribbean Fellowship at HQ2 in Arlington, Virginia. This incredible group of visionaries is working to combat the impacts of climate change through a number of innovative technologies while utilizing the power of AWS technology along the way. This class of fellows spans an impressive array of solutions, from climate change insurance, to natural refrigeration, sustainable finance, Lithium-Ion battery re-use, and new developments in composting. We can’t wait to see how they build on these ideas in the coming year!