The center is located within the same Houston facility that builds and ships Apple’s advanced AI servers.
CUPERTINO, Calif.—Apple® has brought online a new Advanced Manufacturing Center (AMC) in Houston that offers free training and educational sessions for small- and medium-sized businesses, giving them direct experience with state-of-the-art equipment, interactive labs, and tools they need to accelerate innovation.
Opened in August, the AMC is the company’s second U.S. manufacturing learning site. It is located within the same Houston facility that builds and ships Apple’s advanced AI servers and will begin manufacturing Mac mini® this year, the company said in a release.
At the center, experts teach participants many of the same innovative processes used to make Apple products. As part of the center’s kickoff event, Apple hosted 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, along with other officials and community partners. They joined Apple leaders and the AMC’s first cohort of small- and medium-sized business leaders for a full day of hands-on training and programming.
Apple’s new Advanced Manufacturing Center in Houston gives small- and medium-sized businesses direct experience with state-of-the-art equipment, interactive labs, and tools they need to accelerate innovation. (Image courtesy Apple)
“In less than nine months, we have invested hundreds of millions of dollars into this Houston facility,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, in a release announcing the opening of the facility. “We stood up a factory, started production, and shipped the first advanced AI servers off the line. Today, we’re thrilled to open our new Advanced Manufacturing Center, a place where businesses, workers, and students can learn the same innovative processes that we use to make Apple’s most groundbreaking products. And we’re pleased to begin Mac mini production later this year. 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. We want to build the future of American manufacturing.”
“This opening is an important step in Apple delivering on its promise to bring its manufacturing back to America,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, in the release. “With this Advanced Manufacturing Center, Apple will equip American workers with the skills they need to lead the next generation of technology.”
Inside the 20,000-square-foot center, Apple experts will share their knowledge directly with participating businesses and entrepreneurs to help accelerate smart manufacturing across America. Curriculum topics will range from classroom sessions on advanced manufacturing principles for final assembly and design considerations for printed circuit board assembly, to interactive workshops that make use of the site’s representative production facility and equipment.
As programming expands, the AMC will offer the same hands-on training to local college students, equipping the next generation of American manufacturing workers with critical skills, the release stated.
To mark the AMC’s opening, its first cohort of small- and medium-sized business leaders spent the day immersed in hands-on training led by Apple engineers, covering smart manufacturing techniques like machine-learning-driven quality control and advanced automation. Participants learn how to identify and adapt to production challenges in real time, engage with the lab’s holographic table and advanced factory-floor equipment, and gain hands-on experience assembling and laser etching a product themselves.
“The AMC builds on the work of 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 their production processes,” the release stated. “The Apple Manufacturing Academy’s virtual programming also offers flexible, on-demand learning covering topics including automation, quality control optimization, and machine learning with vision, as well as professional development training.”
Apple announced earlier this year that it will bring Mac mini production to Houston. The company shipped its first advanced AI servers less than a year after identifying a factory site.
Since announcing a $600 billion commitment last year, Apple and its American Manufacturing Program partners have invested in designing and producing custom silicon, advanced components, and cover glass in the United States. In doing so, they are “demonstrating the company’s long-standing commitment to strengthening the country’s advanced manufacturing sector,” the company said in the release. “Businesses interested in the Advanced Manufacturing Center can sign up to be notified for future sessions.”
Houston Mayor John Whitmire said that Houston is grateful for the significant investment in the city.
“The Advanced Manufacturing Center will create local jobs and will continue improving the quality of life of Houston residents. The AMC also recognizes our city as a growing technology hub and solidifies Houston’s leadership in the manufacturing sector of the United States,” Whitmire said in the release.