The Opportunity for Early Movers
In July 2025, the White House launched the National AI Action Plan and passed the Big Beautiful Bill, unlocking over $100 billion in funding and programs to modernize U.S. infrastructure for artificial intelligence. The National AI Action Plan introduces transformational shifts:
- Prioritizes U.S.-controlled compute infrastructure through DOE-hosted AI data centers on federal lands
- Calls for milestone-driven public–private partnerships (PPPs) to build and manage AI infrastructure, including clean power co-location
- Launches the American Science Cloud and supports sovereign model development for science, health, and national security
- Creates AI-specific R&D, talent, procurement, and evaluation ecosystems across federal, state, and local levels
Federal Funding Surge
The 2025 reconciliation bill included $100+ billion in AI funding, a 300% increase in AI-related discretionary funding across key mission agencies.
INFRASTRUCTURE + ENERGY
$1 billion to expand grid reliability, power co-siting for AI data centers and an additional $500 million for energy grid updates, and substation buildouts
SECURE INFRASTRUCTURE ZONES
$250 million to establish shared AI R&D infrastructure with private sector, along with matching funds for local AI zones for metro/regional innovation consortiums
COMPUTE + R&D
$150 million to develop self-improving models and sovereign AI tools, and another $250 million to develop secure deployment and inference environments
RURAL HEALTH TRANSFORMTION
$10 billion to support rural hospital systems through investments in AI-enhanced diagnostics, care coordination, and monitoring
National AI Action Plan Is Already in Motion: Strategic Sites for AI Infrastructure Selected
The Department of Energy has selected four federal sites for co-located AI data centers and energy hubs. These sites offer shovel-ready access to federal land, permitting pathways, and power planning, making them ideal for:
- Sovereign compute and cloud zone deployment
- Clean energy co-location and SMR siting
- Public--private testbed development and missionspecific AI research.
These facilities will:
- Serve as anchor points for sovereign AI compute and scientific model development
- Leverage existing DOE land and power access to reduce permitting delays
- Create shovel-ready opportunities for cloud providers, clean energy companies, EPC firms, and national labs
DOE solicitations will begin releasing in late 2025, with opportunities for site leases, infrastructure construction, and AI services provisioning. Next-step actions include:
- Site-specific solicitations for development, to be issued in late 2025
- Partnership formation among developers, utilities, labs, and local economic authorities
- Early-stage infrastructure planning: substation access, cooling systems, transmission buildout, and workforce housing
Newly selected sites
- Idaho National Laboratory (INL)
- Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR)
- Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (KY)
- Savannah River Site (SC/GA)
How the Public and Private Sector can Engage
The U.S. AI ecosystem is accelerating through federated motion, fueled by federal ambition, congressional funding, statelevel regulation, and private deployment. The result is a layered, experimental, and uneven — but unmistakably intensifying —national AI landscape. Early movers — states, private developers, agencies, and investors — can now lead the charge in building and deploying the systems that will define U.S. competitiveness.
Public Sector
- State and Local Governments: Apply for DOE site partnerships and CMS rural health AI allotments; coordinate permitting and power infrastructure for AI data zones
- Federal Agencies: Prepare for OMB-led AI modernization reviews; align procurement systems to new performance-based AI deployment frameworks
- National Labs and Research Institutions: Bid for model development, testbed operations, and compute infrastructure co-management roles
Private Sector
- Data Center Developers and Cloud Providers: Respond to DOE site solicitations for long-term ground leases and AI compute delivery
- Clean Energy Providers: Partner with DOE and site hosts to co-locate SMRs, geothermal, and dispatchable power for AI data zones
- Defense Contractors and Autonomy Firms: Build integrated AI+autonomy systems backed by DOD multiyear procurement authority
- Digital Health and AI Startups: Join rural transformation pilots delivering AI-enabled diagnostics, workforce planning, and remote care models
How A&M Can Help
Guide High-Impact Federal Delivery
- Help federal agencies meet AI mandates by vetting solution partners, aligning procurements to mission outcomes, and embedding VfM principles into scalable operating models.
Align State and Local Infrastructure Plans
- Coordinate permitting, power access, and workforce strategies with national AI priorities to unlock infrastructure and funding opportunities.
Accelerate Private Sector Readiness
- Equip developers and consortiums with bid strategy, compliance tools, and project execution planning to compete for federally-backed AI projects.
Structure Public–Private AI Partnerships
- Design and manage partnerships that blend public interest and private innovation — de-risking delivery across sovereign compute and AI infrastructure.
Originally Published 24 September 2025
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