OpenAI’s new data centers will use more power than NYC

OpenAI, earlier this week, has announced a strategic partnership with US chipmaker Nvidia in which tech giants are committed to build upward of 10 gigawatts of AI data centers.

As reported by Fortune, the planned data centers under the investment of $100 billion would consume the power as much as the entire New York City.

In addition to this project, existing projects such as the Stargate initiative could also add another 7 gigawatts, which is equivalent to San Diego’s consumption during last year’s scorching heatwave.

Cornell University energy-systems engineering professor Fengqi You said, “Ten gigawatts is more than the peak power demand in Switzerland or Portugal. Seventeen gigawatts is like powering both countries together.”

Moreover, OpenAI and Oracle’s Stargate data center in Abilene, Texas is also responsible for consuming enough electricity that could be used to power half a million homes.

Five new projects which are a part of Donald Trump’s AI data center initiative, are expected to total seven gigawatts.

University of Chicago professor of computer science Andrew Chien explained, “It’s scary because… now [computing] could be 10 percent or 12 percent of the world’s power by 2030.”

“We’re coming to some seminal moments for how we think about AI and its impact on society,” he added.