Georgia is at a crossroads in global AI race, but here’s how state can thrive

On July 23, the executive order Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure sent a clear signal that the U.S. intends to bolster domestic infrastructure and fast-track artificial intelligence (AI) innovation.

Just days later, China unveiled its Global AI Governance Action Plan, positioning itself to become the leader in AI infrastructure.

Earlier this year, the White House had also reversed Biden-era restriction on NVIDIA chip exports – a policy originally aimed at curbing China’s AI capabilities, which accelerated its push for domestic alternatives.

This shift was underscored on Sept. 17, when China imposed a ban on NVIDIA chip imports and mandated domestic companies to use Huawei chips instead.

Welcome to what many are calling “the AI Race” – a high-stakes contest with sweeping implications across industries and international relations. It’s reshaping economies at home and abroad, disrupting labor markets across sectors, and redefining geopolitical influence on a global scale.

China and United States are competing to gain AI dominance

At the national level, the stakes couldn’t be higher. China is projected to surpass the U.S. as the world’s largest economy by 2030 – a forecast first floated by economists nearly two decades ago.

Pujan Roka

At the national level, the stakes couldn’t be higher. China is projected to surpass the U.S. as the world’s largest economy by 2030 – a forecast first floated by economists nearly two decades ago.

Still, Georgia has yet to attract AI megaprojects on the scale seen in Texas – such as the $500 billion ‘Stargate’ initiative, a joint venture between OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank to build next-generation AI infrastructure.

Georgia should look at examples in Texas and Tennessee for guidance

While land costs in Georgia and Texas are comparable, Texas offers one notable advantage: a deregulated energy grid. This allows data center operators to procure power directly and negotiate flexible contracts. The result is a wave of energy innovation: Fermi America, for example, plans to build an AI data center in Amarillo, Texas, powered by an 11-gigawatt nuclear facility – combining high-density compute with four new nuclear reactors. Pairing data centers with on-site energy production is quickly becoming the blueprint for large-scale AI workloads.

Tennessee, Georgia’s next-door neighbor, is making significant strides in attracting hyperscalers like Google and xAI. On Aug. 18, Google announced its intent to deploy small modular reactors (SMRs) in Tennessee – leveraging the state’s federally aligned framework to fast-track advanced nuclear projects. Unlike Tennessee, Georgia does not currently offer a similar provision to fast-track nuclear innovation. Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s xAI is building the “Colossus” data center in Memphis, powered by 1 million graphics processing units (GPUs) – making it the first of its kind in the world.

Georgia, for its part, is home to the Plant Vogtle nuclear facility – currently the largest in the U.S., with 4.4-gigawatt of production capacity. However, Georgia’s regulated utility model prevents data centers from procuring power directly from Vogtle, limiting flexibility and cost efficiency for fast-moving AI deployments.

While the new executive order has only recently taken effect, it may catalyze new legislation in Georgia aimed at competing with Texas and other states in the AI infrastructure race. State lawmakers will need to consider how to leverage federal permitting reforms to expedite data center development and energy procurement – without unnecessary bureaucracy.