- Microsoft and OpenAI are working on plans for a data center project to build an AI supercomputer called “Stargate.”
- The Information reported that Microsoft would likely finance the project, costing US$100 billion, expected to be launched in 2028.
- The proposed U.S. supercomputer would be the largest in a series of supercomputers the companies will build over the next six years.
Microsoft and OpenAI are developing plans for a data center project that could cost $100 billion and include an AI supercomputer called “Stargate”, which is expected to be launched in 2028.
The concept of the plan
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI and Microsoft have spread the supercomputers across five phases. Stargate is the fifth phase of the plan.
According to The information, OpenAI’s next major AI upgrade is expected to land by early next year, adding that Microsoft executives are looking to launch Stargate as soon as 2028.
Microsoft is likely to fund the project, which is expected to cost 100 times more than some of the largest existing data centers.
The proposed U.S.-based supercomputer would be the biggest in a series the companies are looking to build over the next six years, the report added.
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Current situation
Microsoft and OpenAI are currently in the middle of the third phase of the five-phase plan, with a significant portion of the cost for the next two phases involving acquiring the needed AI chips.
“We are always planning for the next generation of infrastructure innovations needed to continue pushing the frontier of AI capability,” Frank Shaw, a Microsoft spokesperson, said in a statement to the publication.
The proposed efforts could cost more than $115 billion, more than three times what Microsoft spent last year on capital expenditures for servers, buildings, and other equipment, the report stated.
