That's according to a new study from researchers at Georgetown, Epoch AI, and Rand, which looked at the growth trajectory of AI data centers around the world from 2019 to this year. The co-authors compiled and analyzed a dataset of over 500 AI data center projects and found that, while the computational performance of data centers is more than doubling annually, so are the power requirements and capital expenditures. OpenAI, which recently said that roughly 10% of the world's population is using its ChatGPT platform, has a partnership with SoftBank and others to raise up to $500 billion to establish a network of AI data centers in the U.S. (and possibly elsewhere). Other tech giants, including Microsoft, Google, and AWS, have collectively pledged to spend hundreds of millions of dollars this year alone expanding their data center footprints. According to the Georgetown, Epoch, and Rand study, the hardware costs for AI data centers like xAI's Colossus, which has a price tag of around...
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