Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella expressed concerns about the power shortages necessary for the operation of graphics processors within the artificial intelligence sector. He shared this insight during a joint interview with OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman, as reported by Tom's Hardware.
“The primary issue we are facing is not so much the lack of computing power, but rather the energy supply – the ability to quickly build data centers near energy sources. If we fail to do this, we might find ourselves in a situation where a lot of chips are just sitting in warehouses because I can’t connect them. That is indeed my problem today,” Nadella stated.
Similar challenges are observed at NVIDIA. After the company managed to address the shortage of AI accelerators, the focus shifted to ensuring adequate power supply for them. Many tech giants are investing in various energy sources, including nuclear power, to supply electricity to their data centers. These changes have already reflected in the rising electricity bills for consumers in the U.S.
Microsoft, for instance, has signed a deal to revive a closed nuclear power plant worth $1.6 billion. Other companies are taking similar steps. Meta has signed an agreement with XGS Energy to supply 150 MW of electricity from geothermal sources and procure from nuclear power stations. AWS announced a $500 million investment in nuclear energy. Google has also secured a clean energy supply agreement, where the tech giant will receive up to 3 gigawatts of electricity in the U.S. and announced the location of its first nuclear reactor.
