AIDEA launches InvestNorth to finance Alaska data centers, but Alaskans can't invest yet

The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority launched InvestNorth on Monday, a platform it says will let Alaskans take a stake in data centers and other projects built in the state.

There's nothing to buy yet. No project, site, developer, price or opening date was announced. "No offering is being made at this time, and structure, timing and terms have not been determined," the launch announcement says. The website says no money is being solicited or accepted.

InvestNorth is run by Alaska Data Corp., a subsidiary of AIDEA, the state's development finance authority, and built by Plural, a financial services firm. The subsidiary "runs the program and picks the projects," the website says. It is starting with data centers, and the state has set aside capital to invest alongside private developers and investors, according to the announcement, which doesn't say how much.

AIDEA's board approved moving $20 million to the subsidiary in January. The resolution treats the money as equity and working capital and lets the subsidiary study and build a blockchain platform, hire advisers and sign technology contracts. The launch materials don't say how much of that money has been transferred or spent.

At that January meeting, new board member Andrew Guy said the amount seemed high and that he'd be more comfortable seeing a budget, according to the minutes. Deputy Director Brandon Brefczynski, now the subsidiary's president, said the money was meant to cover several years of operations, due diligence and possible investments, and that the subsidiary wasn't expected to come back for more. The board approved it unanimously, with Commerce Commissioner Julie Sande absent.

The launch follows other large AIDEA approvals made in the weeks before Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who is term-limited, leaves office in December. Since Oct. 21, AIDEA's board has approved a $75 million company to invest in undersea internet cables, up to $10 million for a stake in a company pursuing geothermal power on Augustine volcano and an estimated $86 million more for the Ambler Road. The authority also agreed to invest $25 million in nuclear startup NuCube.

Dunleavy pitched InvestNorth as a way to "explore how individual Alaskans can have an ownership stake so that they clearly and directly benefit all Alaskans." The website compares it to the Permanent Fund and says Alaskans could invest "starting at amounts that fit a household budget." It also says the structure, timing and terms haven't been determined, and that neither the state nor Alaska Data Corp. guarantees any investment or return.

Ownership would be recorded on a blockchain, a process called tokenization, which the site says would make each share "a tokenized security, not a cryptocurrency." It promises a public ledger showing what each project raises and spends. No project has been announced to put on it.

Alaska communities have taken different approaches to data centers. Houston passed a two-year pause on data center permits in October. Fairbanks North Star Borough planning staff back a pause on large ones through 2027. Sitka's Planning Commission recommended banning them in every zone. Petersburg's Assembly advanced a narrower pause covering data centers that would exceed the electric utility's capacity, rely on generators or lack closed-loop cooling.

In Cordova, the electric co-op has pursued a small data center to buy hydropower it can't otherwise sell. AIDEA approved a loan in 2025 for "a small data center deployment in Cordova," Brefczynski told the board in January, according to the minutes, which don't name the borrower.

Senate Bill 250, which would bar data centers from passing infrastructure costs on to residential electric customers, passed the Senate in May but stalled in a House committee when the Legislature adjourned.