Microsoft Corp. has donated $1.2 million to the UWM Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, to support the university's Connected Systems Institute.
This is the second time Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) has invested in the university. In 2019, Microsoft also invested in the Connected Systems Institute with a $1.25 million gift.
Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella, a 1990 graduate from UW-Milwaukee's College of Engineering & Applied Science, and his wife Anu Nadella also made an individual $2 million donation to the university to create the UWM Fund for Diversity in Tech Education in 2021.
“We at UWM are so grateful to Microsoft for their continued support of the Connected Systems Institute,” UW-Wisconsin Milwaukee chancellor Mark Mone said in a press release. “This gift allows us to expand innovation among Wisconsin manufacturers through the adoption of Industry 4.0 and AI technologies and to meet the ever-increasing demand for a highly skilled workforce. Together, we are advancing the economic growth of our region.”
The university's Connected Systems Institute (CSI) launched in 2017 as a way to both educate and expand Wisconsin's manufacturing talent pipeline. Other major partners in the institute include Rockwell Automation, We Energies, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. and UScellular.
Microsoft's participation in the project runs beyond the financial contribution. The company's chief artificial intelligence officer, Balamurugan Balakreshnan, provided input into the development of CSI, including participating in AI workshops at the institute.
“CSI is playing a pivotal role in pushing technological advances in the manufacturing sector,” Balakreshnan said in the release.
Balakreshnan gave the example of the institute's research on an AI vision system that assists manufacturers to gather information quickly on the shop floor. He said it not only increases efficiency but also safety.
"CSI, with the help of Microsoft, has moved rapidly into the AI space with the hopes of providing tangible technology solutions to manufacturers," he added in the release.
Microsoft has begun development of a $1 billion data center in Mount Pleasant and has plans for further investment on adjacent property it recently acquired. The company now owns about two square miles in the community where a multibillion-dollar investment is expected.
