Key Points
- Elon Musk’s xAI has purchased a third building for a new data center.
- The new facility is part of a plan to reach 2 gigawatts of computing power.
- The expansion aims to help xAI compete with industry leaders like OpenAI.
- The company is also building its own power plant to support the data centers.
Elon Musk’s AI startup, xAI, is growing rapidly. On Tuesday, Musk announced that the company has bought a third massive building to expand its supercomputing power. The goal is to boost its training capacity to nearly 2 gigawatts, a substantial amount of energy that underscores xAI’s commitment to competing with giants like OpenAI and Anthropic.
Musk shared the news on his social media platform, X, writing, “xAI has bought a third building called MACROHARDRR.” He didn’t say where the new building is, but the name seems to be a playful jab at his rival, Microsoft.
According to other reports, the new data center is planned for a location just outside of Memphis, Tennessee. This is the same area where xAI is already building the world’s largest supercomputer, a project they call “Colossus.”
The company’s ambitions are massive. Musk plans to eventually fill these data centers with at least one million graphics processing units (GPUs). To power all this hardware, xAI is even building its own natural gas power plant nearby. Construction on the new MACROHARDRR facility is expected to begin sometime in 2026.
This aggressive expansion underscores the substantial resources required to train the next generation of artificial intelligence. However, it also comes with significant controversy.
Environmental groups have criticized the AI boom because these large data centers consume significant amounts of electricity and have a significant environmental impact.
For now, Musk is pushing forward, determined to build the infrastructure needed to create the most advanced AI in the world. With Colossus and now MACROHARDRR, xAI is positioning itself as a major player in the high-stakes race to control the future of technology.
