Microsoft and OpenAI’s future supercomputer will cost $100 billion and run on nuclear energy

Behind tools like ChatGPT, Gemini (formerly Bard) and Midjourney are high-performance data centers. These infrastructures ensure both the training of generative AI and their daily operation. In the race for power, industry leaders must therefore invest colossal sums in this type of infrastructure, which is costly to build and operate. And if the sums involved seemed impressive until now, the new quote from Microsoft and OpenAI is more impressive than ever.

100 billion dollars: this is the cost of developing the American duo’s next supercomputer. The project is called Stargate, in reference to the science fiction series of the same name launched in the 90s. But here, it is not a question of traveling to other stars, but of projecting the two American giants into a more or less near future. According to information collected by The Informationit will be responsible for running their future artificial intelligence projects for several years, and is expected to be launched in 2028.

But, who says supercomputer and data center, also says energy consumption. And, on this point, Stargate is completely excessive, since it should consume up to 5 gigawatts of electricity at full capacity. Or the equivalent… of a twelfth of French nuclear capacity, note Point.

Nuclear reactors to power the AI ​​of tomorrow

We still know very little about this project, because in addition to its confidential nature, OpenAI and Microsoft still have some details to settle, and the two companies are still in phase 3 out of 5 of its design. Among the subjects still undetermined is its electricity supply.

Here again, we see things in a big way, because it is very likely that it will be nuclear energy that will power Stargate. Indeed, the American duo has already acquired the skills necessary to give themselves the means to achieve their ambitions. Microsoft thus called on the services of Erin Henderson, a doctor in biochemistry specializing in mini-SMR reactors, and Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, invested in Oklo, a company developing this type of infrastructure.

The choice of nuclear power is quite logical, because it would make it possible to operate artificial intelligence tools while responding, at least in part, to environmental concerns. At the end of 2022, a British research firm, Omdia, already suggested that this energy could become a first-rate choice for powering increasingly resource-intensive data centers. A year and a half later, this analysis seems more relevant than ever.

Nuclear or not, Stargate is a symbol of what’s happening in the world of artificial intelligence. This sector, which has undergone a very noticeable evolution since the launch of ChatGPT, has a bright future, attracting both curiosity and fascination as well as increasingly significant capital.