Musk's xAI buys third building to expand AI supercomputer
What's the story
Elon Musk's artificial intelligence (AI) start-up, xAI, has acquired a third building for its supercomputer infrastructure. The move is part of an ambitious plan to ramp up training capacity to nearly 2 gigawatts. The expansion comes as xAI seeks to take on industry giants like OpenAI and Anthropic by developing more sophisticated models.
Infrastructure details
xAI's supercomputer cluster in Memphis
The supercomputer cluster, dubbed Colossus, is located in Memphis, Tennessee. It is said to be the largest in the world. Musk announced the acquisition of a third building on X and revealed it was called MACROHARDRR. The name could be a reference to Microsoft's brand. The Information reported that this new facility for a supersized data center will be located outside Memphis. Musk is also constructing a second nearby site dubbed Colossus 2.
Future developments
Expansion plans for Colossus supercomputer
xAI plans to upgrade its Colossus supercomputer to accommodate at least 1 million graphics processing units. The company intends to convert the newly acquired warehouse into a data center by 2026. Both this new facility and Colossus 2 are situated near a natural gas power plant that xAI is constructing in the region, along with other energy sources.
Sustainability concerns
AI infrastructure expansion faces environmental criticism
The growth of AI infrastructure has drawn flak from environmental activists due to the high energy consumption of data centers. Despite these concerns, xAI continues its aggressive expansion plans. The company has been in talks to raise $20 billion in debt and equity earlier this year, partly for purchasing 550,000 NVIDIA processors for Colossus 2, Bloomberg News reported.