Microsoft announced that it will open a new Fairwater AI data center in Wisconsin, claiming it to be the "world's most powerful" artificial intelligence data center. The project has a total investment of US$3.3 billion and is located at the site of the former Foxconn LCD panel factory. Foxconn announced the construction of the factory in 2017, but by the end of 2018 it was called a "mess" because it failed to achieve expected results.
The new data center covers an area of 1.2 million square feet and consists of three buildings covering a total area of 315 acres. Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella said that "hundreds of thousands" of NVIDIA GB200 GPU chips are installed inside the center, and "its optical fiber connection length is enough to circle the earth 4.5 times." Microsoft claims that the computing power of this GPU cluster is 10 times higher than that of the world's fastest supercomputer, which will greatly accelerate the company's AI training process. In addition, Microsoft revealed that multiple Fairwater data centers are under construction in the United States.
Microsoft emphasizes the new environmentally friendly and energy-saving design of the data center, which adopts a closed-loop cooling system that can self-circulate and seal after only the first water injection, effectively eliminating evaporation losses. Microsoft's vice chairman and president strongly emphasized the company's sustainable development initiatives when announcing the project. This is related to the fact that AI computing power and data centers are often accused of "huge" energy consumption.
With the rapid development of AI technology, Microsoft's transformation and use of Foxconn factories not only revitalizes huge idle industrial assets, but also provides a new path for the innovation and sustainable development of local AI computing power in the United States.