A Microsoft and the startup OpenAImaker of chatGPT, are planning to build an artificial intelligence supercomputer called Stargate together with a data center, worth US$100 billion (approximately R$505 billion), according to the website The Information. Scheduled to launch in 2028, the project would serve to power OpenAI’s artificial intelligence and meet its growing processing demand.
The venture, which, according to the website, would be financed by Microsoft, would cost 100 times more than some of the largest data centers in the world.
The sources of The Information, who say they spoke with Sam Altman, CEO of OpenIA, and saw cost estimates from Microsoft, claim that Stargate would be the final step of the five phases planned for the project. At the moment, companies would be halfway through the third phase.
Although the computer has the potential to exceed many times the current computing power provided by Microsoft to OpenAI, its energy expenditure would also be greater, requiring several gigawatts. Each 1 GW is equivalent to the energy consumption of approximately 500 thousand homes.
In May 2023, after investing around US$13 billion at OpenAI, Microsoft closed a deal with nuclear fusion company Helion Energy. Companies have been studying the use of nuclear energy to power their data centers since last year.
The exorbitant value of the project would be justified not only by investments in nuclear fusion energy but also in obtaining server chips. Altman already stated in January his interest in developing a proprietary line of chips to circumvent the current dominance of Nvidia in the AI-focused GPU market.
Microsoft and OpenAI declined to comment. However, the company known for Windows told Business Insider which is “always planning the next infrastructure innovations needed to continue driving AI capability forward.”
Tags: Microsoft OpenAI developing trillion reais supercomputer
