Winning the AI Race Requires Public and Private Partnership
Countries around the world are vying for global or regional leadership in AI, with the U.S. and China contending for first place. As stated by the World Economic Forum, “Whoever has the largest AI ecosystem will set global AI standards and reap broad economic and military benefits.” AI has been referred to as a renaissance and an industrial revolution. It will not only reshape economies but the way we think and interact. This makes investment in all aspects of AI of the utmost importance. The White House is aware of this moment, and released America’s AI Action Plan last month, which includes multiple mandates by which the U.S. can become the global leader in AI. The Plan is organized into pillars: innovation, infrastructure, international diplomacy and security.
Since last year, ImpactData and Raeden have been working together to design and build “Dream Centers,” which in essence offer a microcosm that helps fulfill important mandates under the innovation and infrastructure parts of the Plan. Dream Centers are a vision derived from ImpactData’s public, private, and academic partnerships that bring together land, power, connectivity, and AI talent pipelines to develop modern workforces and technology infrastructure that spur innovation and help narrow economic disparities. Nations around the world are leveraging such partnerships to get ahead in the global AI race.
Global AI Strategies Taking Effect
As witnessed by China’s success in the growth of their AI industry, it’s essential that the public and private sectors work together with academia toward a common goal, which in our case is to establish American AI as the gold standard for AI worldwide. China’s success was not a surprise to those familiar with the Chinese tech sector. China currently has 47% of the world’s top AI talent and more than 50% of AI patents, and they are investing billions to become a global superpower in AI. This is not a happy accident, but a result of long-term investment and strategic alignment. According to the World Economic Forum, “China’s rapid advance in generative AI is the unusually tight coordination among its public sector institutions, academic research bodies and private firms.” China began investing in HPC infrastructure years ago, prioritizing STEM education focusing on AI, and mobilizing a highly technical workforce.
El Salvador is aiming to become a leader in AI, particularly open-source AI, passing a law earlier this year that provides a regulatory framework and protection for open-source models, making it one of the first countries to pass protections for open AI. The government has also launched an AI Lab, which will focus on research, development, and applications within public services in addition to educating the nation’s workforce. Last month, the government launched the National Agency for Artificial Intelligence and made the world’s first sovereign purchase of Nvidia B300 GPUs for the AI Lab.
Meanwhile, France has the third largest number of AI researchers in the world, and is aiming to be the European hub for AI. France’s National Strategy for AI includes more than $109 billion in investments in AI infrastructure development and multiple collaborations between the public and private sectors. NVIDIA announced a collaboration with Mistral AI, an independent generative AI pioneer headquartered in France, to build an end-to-end compute platform that fulfills the compute infrastructure needs of enterprise customers. Mistral AI’s compute platform includes the planned deployment of 18,000 Blackwell and Blackwell Ultra GPUs in the initial phase with plans to expand across multiple sites in 2026. Mistral AI and NVIDIA are also collaborating with Bpifrance, the French national investment bank, and MGX, the UAE’s investment fund focused on AI and advanced technology, to establish Europe’s largest AI campus. The campus is expected to reach a capacity of 1.4 gigawatts and will support the full AI lifecycle, from model training and inference to deployment of generative and applied AI systems.
Dream Centers Are an Investment in American AI Leadership
If the U.S. wants to hold the lead in AI technology, we must work together toward a common goal across sectors. Dream Centers help make this common goal a reality. A Dream Center is an AI-enabled data center with space and power leased by private sector firms, but with an innovation center to be utilized by students and workers in the community to innovate and train with AI technology. For the first Dream Center, ImpactData decided to collaborate with North Carolina Agricultural and Technical University (NC A&T) in Greensboro, NC. NC A&T is currently one of the only universities in the U.S. offering an accredited bachelor’s degree in AI. With their curriculum, they are leading the development of an American AI workforce.
The Greensboro Dream Center’s innovation hub will provide students with a robotics lab, virtual reality and mixed reality collaboration spaces, a fabrication and prototyping lab, a nanotech lab, and GPU and compute resources dedicated to innovation and student learning. NCA&T and ImpactData, powered by Raeden’s data center expertise, will provide the infrastructure and technology resources needed to make hands-on training possible. The partnership will also extend these benefits beyond full-time students. The Dream Center will make AI training available to the local workforce, enabling current and potential future employees at technology and aerospace companies to upskill and adapt to new technologies. This partnership addresses a critical need for continuous learning in a rapidly evolving job market and helps to retain a competitive, skilled workforce in the region.
Shaping an American AI Workforce
NC A&T’s bachelor degree program is designed to create a pipeline of highly skilled professionals ready to meet the soaring demand for AI talent, particularly in a state like North Carolina where the AI labor market is projected to grow more than three times faster than the overall job market.
The NC A&T AI degree program offers two concentrations: Advanced AI Systems through the College of Engineering and Applied AI in the College of Science and Technology. This dual-concentration approach ensures graduates have both the theoretical foundation and the practical, hands-on experience needed for the job market. The curriculum is built on an interdisciplinary approach, integrating core principles of computer systems, robotics, machine learning, and data science with students being able to specialize in either machine learning, robotics, or AI. This holistic and forward-looking education will be a significant benefit to innovative companies in the region, which need employees who can apply AI to complex, real-world problems in aerospace and manufacturing.
NC A&T has established strong relationships with major industry players such as NVIDIA, Google, Microsoft, and Boeing. These partnerships provide students with invaluable opportunities for internships, research collaborations, and mentorship. This private-sector collaboration provides real-world experience ensures graduates are workplace-ready upon graduation, reducing the need for extensive on-the-job training. As a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), NCA&T’s AI program is uniquely positioned to cultivate a diverse talent pool in a field that has historically lacked representation. By producing a significant number of Black graduates in STEM, the university is actively helping to lessen economic disparities and build a more inclusive tech workforce. This not only benefits the graduates but also provides companies with a broader range of perspectives and skills, fostering innovation.
A Unique Opportunity Awaits
A unique opportunity awaits a forward-looking firm that requires AI-enabled data center space and an AI talent pipeline. The Greensboro Dream Center’s first 20MW of power will come online in early 2027. ImpactData, Raeden, and NC A&T are seeking a private-sector partner to take up residence in the Dream Center. In addition to having immediate access to scalable power and land for future development, the anchor tenant will have the opportunity to support curricula and build their own internship program for AI students.
If this sounds like the right opportunity for your organization, contact us at sales@raeden.com.