GRAND FORKS, N.D. – One of the companies leading the charge in U.S. artificial intelligence development is arguing in favor of the benefits for North Dakota, while announcing a new partnership to further advance the industry.
The annual two-day UAS Summit & Expo took place at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks on October 14th & 15th.
At the event, Armada revealed its new working relationship with drone manufacturer Skydio to further promote their mobile AI data factories.
Armada says the factories, which can be hauled to sites on the backs of trucks and can be set up in days, will help process drone data in real time.
“You can put it literally anywhere,” Armada CEO Dan Wright told The Flag on Wednesday. “You just tell us where the land, the power and the data is and we bring the factory there.”
Listen: Armada’s Dan Wright speaks with Scott Hennen at the UAS Summit & Expo
Wright says their factories are “permanently mobile and permanently flexible” and will have a “much smaller footprint.”
The company recently showed how the process works in Medora.
Wright also touted the positive impacts that AI will have in North Dakota, a state he believes will be critical in keeping pace with China.
“This is where the action and the energy is,” said Wright, “It’s a tremendous opportunity for the state and the country.”
Wright recently made a video presentation to Trump administration members in Washington D.C.. about the future of AI development in the U.S., with North Dakota featured as one of the states that can be at the forefront.
Despite critics who worry about rising utility bills and other negative fallout from AI data centers, Wright says the movement will come with more jobs and lower taxes.
“The jobs that are going to grow and pay well,” said Wright. “There will be a tremendous amount. North Dakota has a huge opportunity to lead.”
“If we don’t embrace that change and lead it, we no longer lead the world and lose our place.”
