The scale of AI
The cloud, it's just someone else's computer...
Microsoft are in AI, but certainly aren't the biggest. They do, however, have a stake in every part of it:
Microsoft plays in every single part of the AI Token Economic Stack, is witnessing accelerated growth, and we expect the trend to continue in coming quarters and years.
I found this article interesting as a good look at the scale of physical infrastructure to support AI, and the kind of risks—capex spend—companies are taking to be a part of it:
Microsoft’s next-generation clusters for OpenAI are called Fairwater and are significantly larger. Each “Fairwater” is comprised of two buildings – a standard CPU & storage facility of 48MW, and an ultra-dense GPU building. The latter, with two stories and a total ~800k sqft area, boasts ~300MW, i.e. the equivalent power consumption of >200k American households. That represents over 150k GB200 GPUs per building.
Then there's the environmental impact...
Microsoft’s AI Strategy Deconstructed - from Energy to Tokens
“The Big Pause”, AI Tokens Factory Economics Stack, OpenAI, Neocloud Renting, GitHub Copilot Woes, MAI and Maia Floundering
Dylan Patel
New Zealand data centres?
NZTech have a report on current and planned NZ Data Centres: "Our National Data Centre Infrastructure". The overview below is from it, full report available at the link below
Empowering Aotearoa New Zealand’s Digital Future - Our National Data Centre Infrastructure - NZTech
We’re delighted to publish our latest landmark report: Empowering Aotearoa New Zealand’s Digital Future – Our National Data Centre Infrastructure. Data centres are the powerhouses behind our digital lives, enabling everything … Continue reading “Empowering Aotearoa New Zealand’s Digital Future – Our National Data Centre Infrastructure”
