Episode

Tech companies are turning to HBCUs to host AI data centers

Podcast: Marketplace Tech
Published: Jun 24, 2026
Duration seconds: 783
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Canonical source: https://www.marketplace.org/episode/2026/06/24/tech-companies-are-turning-to-hbcus-to-host-ai-data-centers
Audio: https://pscrb.fm/rss/p/mgln.ai/e/5/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/play.publicradio.org/podcast/o/marketplace/tech_report/2026/06/24/tech_20260624_0624_MP_TECH_pod_128.mp3?awCollectionId=mkp-MKPtech&awEpisodeId=01KVTJ2HNG5E3J3XWZZDV4P2V1
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Summary

Big Tech is looking for land to build its AI data centers. HBCUs are looking for new funding after federal cuts. And partnerships between them, like one announced by Fisk University, could be a mutually beneficial — or could end up being a form of "digital sharecropping," according to strategist Ashley Northington, who wrote about this for Tech Policy Press .