Loading…
10
My brother in law works at a data center in Ashburn and told me last week they're capping new AI training builds at 100 megawatts per site now
Said the power hookups are the real bottleneck, not the chips, and it made me think the next big AI story is going to be about electricity and not models, so has anyone else been hearing this from people actually on the ground?
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
knight.diana1d ago
Power hookups being the bottleneck means the AI race is really just a race to find the biggest extension cord. Ashburn is basically a giant suburb that now needs more electricity than some small countries, which is a fun thing to think about next time your lights flicker. The model that wins might just be the one whose data center got its paperwork approved first.
10
brookerobinson1d ago
Power being the real wall makes total sense and it's kind of scary honestly. My cousin does electrical work in Virginia and he says the wait list for new hookups out there is years long now, like people are basically lined up for a spot in line. @knight.diana nailed it with the extension cord thing, except the cord is a whole new substation and nobody wants one in their backyard. It's wild that a company can have all the chips and money in the world and still get stuck waiting on a power company. Feels like the whole AI boom might hit a brick wall that has nothing to do with code.
3