Pitched as data centers. Passed as an inquiry.
"Seems high" is how AIDEA's January minutes record board member Andrew Guy's view of $20 million for Alaska Data Corporation.
The deck
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The story
He asked to see a budget. Resolution G26-03 had arrived with the amount blank. A motion wrote in $20 million and it passed unanimously, one commissioner absent.
On November 9th Gov. Dunleavy pitched the company for distributed data centers and paired it with InvestNorth, a platform for tokenized stakes. The resolution is titled an inquiry. Its text never says data center. The January discussion did. No offering was available at launch.
Inside are the blank and the vote, $20 million against AIDEA's $1.7 billion balance sheet and $10 million yearly budget Brefczynski cited, and what the launch left out.
Would you buy an InvestNorth stake before reading the feasibility finding the resolution puts first?
What we verified
54 CLAIMS, EACH RE-FETCHED FROM ITS SOURCE BEFORE THIS DECK SHIPPED
Alaska Data Corporation's own website describes it as a subsidiary of AIDEA.
Alaska Data Corporation says it is authorized under AS 44.88.178.
Alaska Data Corporation lists Brandon Brefczynski as its President.
Alaska Data Corporation names Dave Stieren as its Vice President and media contact.
Brandon Brefczynski was AIDEA's Deputy Director when he co-signed the staff memo for Resolution G26-03.
Alaska Data Corporation says its records may be subject to disclosure under the Alaska Public Records Act.
Alaska Data Corporation states its purpose as identifying, developing and accelerating investments in emerging technologies.
Alaska Data Corporation's website describes the company as a Delaware corporation.
AIDEA Resolution G26-03 is titled as authorizing an inquiry by Alaska Data Corporation into blockchain and other financing technologies.
Resolution G26-03 approves a transfer of $20,000,000 from AIDEA's Revolving Fund to Alaska Data Corporation.
Resolution G26-03 directs Alaska Data Corporation to record the transfer as equity and working capital.
Under Section 7 of G26-03, the platform may be developed only after the inquiry finds it feasible and in the public interest and AIDEA's Chief Financial Officer approves.
The AIDEA staff memo for G26-03 left the transfer amount blank in its request section.
The same staff memo later states a capitalization of $20,000,000 in equity and working capital.
The text of Resolution G26-03 and its staff memo never uses the words data center.
Resolution G26-03 calls Alaska Data Corporation AIDEA's technological advances development subsidiary.
Brandon Brefczynski presented Resolution G26-03 to the AIDEA board on January 21st.
Brefczynski told the board G26-03 would establish an AIDEA subsidiary named Alaska Data Corporation focused on technology investments.
According to the minutes, the capitalization amount was left blank in the resolution put before the board.
Board member Albert Fogle amended his motion to insert the $20 million capitalization recommended by staff.
G26-03 passed unanimously on a roll call with Commissioner Julie Sande absent.
Board member Andrew Guy said the requested capitalization seemed high and asked to see a budget for the funds.
Brefczynski told the board AIDEA has a $1.7 billion balance sheet.
Brefczynski told the board AIDEA's annual operating budget is $10 million.
Brefczynski described the $20 million as a multi-year capitalization of the subsidiary.
Brefczynski said the subsidiary was not intended to return to the board for more capitalization.
The $20 million was described as covering operations and due diligence costs for potential investments.
Brefczynski told the board the platform would show accredited and non-accredited retail investors the offerings each is eligible for.
Adam Silver of Plural presented on tokenization to the AIDEA board two meetings before the January 21st vote.
At the January meeting Brefczynski linked the platform to a shift toward electron-based assets, data centers and AI.
Brefczynski said the AIDEA board had approved a loan for a small data center deployment in Cordova, with closing nearly complete.
Brefczynski told the board that broadening the range of investors would require work with the SEC and the Department of Law.
In public comment, Fairbanks resident John Gaedeke called it alarming that the day's resolutions added less oversight and more money.
The next governor takes office at noon on December 7th, the first Monday in December after the election.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced Alaska Data Corporation and InvestNorth on November 9th.
Must Read Alaska reported that Alaska Data Corporation is a wholly owned AIDEA subsidiary meant to put state capital to work alongside private developers.
InvestNorth was announced as a state-sponsored infrastructure financing platform.
InvestNorth will use tokenization to digitize ownership interests in infrastructure assets.
InvestNorth runs on AssetOS, software from the fintech company Plural.
Plural holds SEC transfer agent registration and FINRA broker-dealer registration.
Alaska Data Corporation is meant to facilitate distributed data centers in communities throughout the state.
Some InvestNorth opportunities could be reserved for Alaska residents.
No InvestNorth investment offering was available when the platform was announced.
The administration did not announce specific data center projects or construction schedules with the launch.
The administration did not announce investment amounts or projected job totals with the launch.
The administration did not outline the financial terms for deploying AIDEA capital alongside private developers.
Any InvestNorth opportunity would have to be offered through SEC- and FINRA-compliant channels.
Dunleavy said the state should explore how individual Alaskans can have an ownership stake.
Brefczynski said tokenization was an obvious choice to make projects more transparent, accessible and automated.
Plural CEO Adam Silver called the infrastructure behind AI one of the greatest economic opportunities of our time.
Ranked choice tabulation is scheduled for November 18th.
Final certification of the election results is scheduled for November 25th.
On November 12th the Alaska Beacon republished an Anchorage Press story by Max Graham headlined about AIDEA going on a spending spree before the new governor arrives.
The Anchorage Press reported that AIDEA has directed more than $200 million to a spate of projects over the past few months.
Beats
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