Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has opened its new Advanced Manufacturing Center (AMC) in Houston, offering free training and educational sessions for small- and medium-sized businesses across America.
The 20,000-square-foot center gives participants direct experience with state-of-the-art equipment, interactive labs, and tools designed to accelerate innovation in smart manufacturing.
The AMC is located within the same Houston facility that builds and ships Apple’s advanced AI servers, and will also begin manufacturing Mac mini this year.
The center marks Apple’s second U.S. manufacturing learning site, where experts teach participants many of the same innovative processes used to produce Apple products.
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, U.S. Representative Christian D. Menefee, Houston Mayor John Whitmire, and Harris County Precinct One Commissioner Rodney Ellis all attended the kickoff event.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company has invested hundreds of millions of dollars into the Houston facility in under nine months, standing up a factory, starting production, and shipping its first advanced AI servers.
“We believe in American workers and American ingenuity, and we are moving at an incredible pace because we want to build more than great products,” Cook said. “We want to build the future of American manufacturing.”
Secretary Lutnick praised the opening, stating, “With this Advanced Manufacturing Center, Apple will equip American workers with the skills they need to lead the next generation of technology.”
The AMC’s first cohort of small- and medium-sized business leaders spent launch day immersed in training led by Apple engineers, covering machine-learning-driven quality control, advanced automation, and hands-on product assembly and laser etching.
Curriculum at the center spans classroom sessions on advanced manufacturing principles, printed circuit board assembly design, and interactive workshops using the site’s representative production facility and equipment.
As programming expands, the AMC will extend its hands-on training to local college students, building a pipeline of skilled American manufacturing workers for the future.
The Houston center builds on the Apple Manufacturing Academy, which opened in Detroit in August 2025 and has already helped nearly 1,000 American companies learn smart manufacturing techniques and integrate AI into production.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said Apple’s expansion “underscores Texas as the epicenter of American industry and innovation” and will deliver skills Texans need to excel in advanced manufacturing.
Senator Cruz said the facility “will drive job creation and directly benefit our communities by giving small- and mid-sized businesses access to cutting-edge equipment, interactive labs, and operations expertise.”
Apple announced earlier this year a $600 billion commitment through its American Manufacturing Program, investing in custom silicon, advanced components, and cover glass production across the United States.
