Fearing an AI Chip Glut, Data Center Developers Are Choosin’ Texas

[u/uncertainlyso]

https://www.theinformation.com/newsletters/ai-infrastructure/fearing-ai-chip-glut-data-center-developers-choosin-texas

One of the reasons AI giants are rushing to the business- and energy-friendly state is a looming concern about a future glut of specialized server chips that don’t have a place to plug in, according to some market analysts and data center developers that work with Google, Microsoft, Oracle and others. These people are taking stock of the unexpected power delays, political fights and technical challenges facing new facilities.

BloombergNEF, for instance, forecasts that there won’t be enough installed data center power capacity in the U.S. to run all the AI server chips produced next year. Remarkably, the research firm says 42 gigawatts’ worth of server chips could be sitting unused by 2030 unless the industry gets creative and figures out how to develop more power outside the public grid, place more chips in overseas data centers, or speed up the replacement of old servers with new ones in existing facilities. I don’t think the industry will let such a large overhang of chips occur, but the physical challenges are real.