On the southern tip of Malaysia lies the state of Johor, renowned for its beaches and mountainous jungle. But Johor has a new boom industry: data centers to power generative AI, with Microsoft committing more than $2 billion on just such a data center.
The tech giants, electricity has become the new oil. A state-of-the-art AI data center might need 90 MW, enough to power tens of thousands of American homes.
In board meetings, discussions about server capacity are increasingly overshadowed by discussions on grid capacity and energy futures. Nations blessed with abundant low-cost energy are leveraging this newfound advantage to attract AI investments.
Half of the energy costs in a data center typically comes from running cooling systems and air conditioning to keep the servers from overheating. Cooler climates or coastal areas will start to become more in demand as potential sites.
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