- Microsoft declares its Wisconsin data center is 10x more powerful than today’s supercomputers
- The company will have invested more than $7 billion into the project
- Its first facility will open in early 2026, a second comes within three years
Microsoft has lifted the wraps off what it’s calling “the world’s most powerful AI data center” in Wisconsin, which the company says is set to be 10x more powerful than today’s fastest supercomputer.
At its core will be hundreds of thousands of Nvidia GPUs, all connected by enough fiber to wrap around the planet four times over, and it’s all in preparation to train next-generation frontier models.
However, responding to the learnings we’ve been taught so far, Microsoft is making big advancements in terms of sustainability to make this data center less damaging than the ones that came before.
The world’s most powerful AI data center
Microsoft President Brad Smith explained the center will be 90% cooled with recirculated liquid using a closed-loop system with zero operational water waste – the remaining 10% of cooling power will come from outside air.
Smith compared the projected water usage to that of a single restaurant’s annual consumption.
Microsoft will also use pre-paid renewable energy to match every kWh from fossil fuels with carbon-free energy while it builds out a vast 250MW solar project to support the facility.
And this isn’t some long-term investment or a sign of things to come – an initial $3.3 billion investment will have the first facility live by early 2026. Another $4 billion investment will open a second facility within three years.
Smith also boasted about Microsoft’s local ecological efforts, such as restoring prairie and wetland habitats across Racine and Kenosha counties and further restoration work near Lake Michigan, Lamparek Creek, Kirkorian Park and Shagbark Restoration Area.
Apart from the 500 full-time employees set to hold roles at the first campus, and the additional 300 at the second campus, Microsoft also indirectly supported 3,000 jobs during peak construction.
The 315-acre site will form part of a network of over 400 Microsoft data centers in 70 regions, with further plans to partner with nScale to build the UK’s largest supercomputer showing that Microsoft has no plans to slow down.
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