"Today Microsoft announced its plans to bring a Fairwater AI data center, which it claims is the " world's most powerful," online in early 2026. The $3.3 billion construction in Wisconsin is housed at the site of Foxconn' s failed LCD factory which was announced in 2017, but by the end of 2018 was already being called a " boondoggle.""
"The new data center is massive at 1.2 million square feet spread over three buildings on 315 acres of land. Under those roofs are "hundreds of thousands" of Nvidia's GB200 GPUs, "connected by enough fiber to circle the Earth 4.5 times," according to Satya Nadella. Microsoft claims this cluster of interconnected GPUs is ten-times more powerful than the fastest super computer and will greatly accelerate its AI training efforts."
Microsoft plans to bring a Fairwater AI data center online in early 2026. The $3.3 billion site occupies 1.2 million square feet across three buildings on 315 acres at the former Foxconn LCD factory. The facility will house "hundreds of thousands" of Nvidia GB200 GPUs linked by fiber described as enough to circle the Earth 4.5 times. Microsoft claims the GPU cluster is ten times more powerful than the fastest supercomputer and will accelerate AI training. Multiple other Fairwater datacenters are under construction across the US. The design uses a closed-loop cooling system that is filled once and sealed to eliminate evaporation and minimize water waste.
Read at The Verge
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