Microsoft paid $76 million for a pumpkin farm? Microsoft, founded by Bill Gates, has invested one billion dollars in a town called Mount Pleasant, located in Wisconsin, USA.

Microsoft has reportedly acquired a 164-hectare tract of land belonging to the Creuziger family in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, for $76 million. This was revealed by the local media Milwaukee Business Journal, which states that the property is known for housing the famous land of the Giant’s pumpkin farm and a corn maze.

Why Microsoft Paid $76 Million For A Pumpkin Farm?

This land that Microsoft paid $76 million for had already sparked interest in its purchase in the past. However, it was in 2017 when the local government offered a much lower figure than what the company founded by Bill Gates paid as part of an agreement with the Taiwanese multinational Foxconn Technology Group. However, at the time, the family rejected the option offered by the company that manufactures electronic devices ranging from smartphones to game consoles while choosing to wait for a better offer.

The Creuziger family’s land was initially valued at $174,200 in 2023 but later increased to $598,400 after improvements were made, a Mount Pleasant advisor named Dan McHugh confirmed to The Verge.

The family’s attorney, David Barnes, wished the best for Mount Pleasant and Microsoft, requesting respect for the family’s privacy in this change process for their traditional agricultural property.

Microsoft’s Plans In This Region

Added to this transaction is a 259-hectare strip of adjacent land previously acquired by Microsoft for $99.7 million? The tech company is consolidating a development plan in which it intends to invest more than one billion dollars to establish a large data center in this region.

Microsoft believes Wisconsin will be an excellent place to grow its cloud services thanks to the company’s various advancements with Xbox Cloud Gaming.

In fact, due to services such as Game Pass and Cloud Gaming, the technology company uses a different success metric than its competitors, which is based on selling consoles and gaining subscribers.

Job Creation That Raises Doubts

Microsoft’s investment in the area represents a positive turnaround for Mount Pleasant, following fluctuations in investment promises from Foxconn Technology Group, which two years ago slashed its initial $10 billion investment projection, which would have included building its first advanced manufacturing facility in the US.

However, despite the potential for future job creation by Microsoft, which expects to hire 200 workers initially and potentially add more than 460 additional positions, these figures fall short of the 13,000 jobs that Foxconn had promised.

Microsoft Similarly Announced The Development Of Its Maia 100 Chip For AI

Microsoft announced the development of its Maia 100 chip for AI, which is integrated with advanced cooling technologies. One is the cold plate, a system that dissipates heat using a flow of cooling liquid. This advancement is needed because contemporary semiconductor components, measured in nanometers, generate a considerable amount of heat in AI data centers.

Conventional cooling systems, such as fans and air conditioners, involve high operating costs and limitations in cooling efficiency. Against this backdrop, Microsoft is exploring more efficient and economical solutions to manage the temperature of advanced chips in its facilities.

This method could be a step towards immersion cooling. This technique involves submerging servers in a heat-conducting but non-electrical liquid as part of the search for more efficient and less expensive solutions for thermal management in data centers.

Microsoft To Build New Data Center Campus in Europe

Microsoft announced opening a data center campus added to the facilities and will reinforce the company’s presence.

Microsoft indicated that the new data center and promotion of digital transformation will provide intelligent cloud services to European companies and public bodies, complying with the relevant regulatory and data sovereignty requirements. These services include Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Dynamics 365, and Microsoft Power Platform.

An IDC analysis indicates that this campus has the potential to contribute 8.4 billion euros to the national GDP and 64 million euros to the regional GDP, as well as the creation of 69,000 indirect jobs throughout the country between 2026 and 2030.

Well, we aren’t surprised why Microsoft paid $76 million for a pumpkin farm!