- According to The Information, Microsoft and OpenAI are working on a $100 billion supercomputer.
- The project could begin as early as 2028 as part of the companies’ five-phase plan.
- The US-based supercomputer known as Stargate will far exceed current computing power.
Microsoft and OpenAI are planning an unprecedented supercomputer that could use millions of specialized server chips and cost up to $100 billion, The Information reported this week.
The US-based supercomputer, known as Stargate, will be the centerpiece of a five-phase plan focused on a series of supercomputing facilities that the companies plan to build over the next six years, the newspaper reported. Stargate, the fifth phase of the program, could launch as early as 2028, people involved in the project told The Information.
According to the report, executives from both companies are already developing plans for data center projects that will power OpenAI’s artificial intelligence.
A Microsoft spokesperson declined to comment directly on the report, but emphasized the company’s proven ability to build pioneering AI infrastructure.
A company representative told Business Insider that the company is “constantly planning the next-generation infrastructure innovations needed to continue pushing the frontiers of AI capabilities.”
OpenAI did not immediately respond to BI’s request for comment.
Microsoft has already committed more than $13 billion to OpenAI and is likely to fund Stargate, according to the report. OpenAI is currently using Microsoft data centers to power its generative AI system, ChatGPT, in exchange for Microsoft having exclusive rights to resell OpenAI’s technology to its own customers.
Microsoft insiders told Business Insider earlier this month that the company’s strategy is increasingly focused on working with OpenAI, raising concerns that Microsoft is essentially becoming the IT arm of a startup. He said some people do.
The report says supercomputers could be 100 times more expensive than the largest data centers in operation today. This project suggests that huge amounts of money could be poured into the industry as artificial intelligence continues to evolve in the coming years.
Stargate also has the potential to far exceed the computing power Microsoft currently provides to OpenAI from its data centers across the country, which would require at least several gigawatts of power, The Information reported. Masu.
But Microsoft’s participation in the project depends on OpenAI delivering on its promise to improve AI capabilities, the people told the outlet.
The quest to obtain the necessary server chips is a major factor driving up Stargate’s high price, according to the report. Finding enough energy sources to power the project could also be a challenge, and the two companies are discussing the possibility of using alternative power sources, such as nuclear power, the people said.
The demand for AI chips is at its peak, allowing a select few companies (mainly Nvidia) to dominate the market. Altman had expressed his frustration with the “brutal” situation and suggested earlier this year that he wanted to create his own situation.
The chip dilemma is just one of several details about Stargate that still need to be ironed out. People familiar with the project told The Information that Microsoft will need to find a way to fit more GPUs into a single rack than it currently does to improve the chip’s performance. . The company also needs to find a way to prevent the chips from overheating, the report said.
It is not clear where Stargate will be located or whether it will be built in just one data center or in multiple nearby centers, the Information reported.
Axel Springer, Business Insider’s parent company, has a global deal that allows OpenAI to train models based on its media brands’ reporting.
