Microsoft has invested 4 billion US dollars to build the world's strongest AI data center

On Thursday, September 18th, Eastern Time of the United States, Microsoft announced that its "world's most powerful AI data center", which cost 3.3 billion US dollars to build in Wisconsin, USA, will be put into use in early 2026. It plans to invest another 4 billion US dollars to build a second data center of the same scale in the same state. The total investment in this state exceeds 7 billion US dollars.

The data center mentioned above, which is nearly completed, is named Fairwater. Microsoft introduced that it will operate as a large AI supercomputer, using a single flat network to connect hundreds of thousands of the latest NVIDIA Gpus, becoming a powerful AI training facility. Initially, it will be used to train OpenAI models. Fairwater covers an area of 315 acres and consists of three buildings with a total area of 1.2 million square feet, deploying hundreds of thousands of NVIDIA GB200 Gpus. Microsoft President Brad Smith said that the data center integrates the most advanced NVIDIA Gpus, powerful network connections and system architectures, enabling it to train more advanced AI models than ever before. CEO Satya Nadella said that the performance of Fairwater will reach ten times that of the current fastest supercomputer in the world. ​

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella emphasized that Fairwater is a seamless cluster, and the total length of its connected optical fibers is sufficient to circle the Earth 4.5 times. Its performance will be ten times that of the world's fastest supercomputer today, making unprecedented levels of artificial intelligence training and inference work possible. This data center adopts a unique two-story architectural design to achieve closer network connections and reduce latency. Smith said, "The combination of the number of NVIDIA Gpus, GPU performance, and the network and system that connect all computing power makes this project so cutting-edge." ​

Microsoft also plans to supply clean energy to the power grid to offset the fossil fuel power generation consumed by its data centers. The company is building a solar power plant about 150 miles northwest of the data center, which will contribute 250 megawatts of electricity. Brad Smith disclosed that the two phases of the data center might require a total of 900 megawatts of electricity. Meanwhile, Microsoft emphasizes sustainable development. The data center is equipped with an advanced cooling system. Over 90% of the equipment will adopt a closed-loop system to recycle water and chemicals, eliminating the need for additional water replenishment. The rest of the parts are cooled by external air and only switch to water cooling mode in hot weather. Smith said that the annual water consumption of a single data center is only equivalent to that of a standard 18-hole golf course in a week during the peak summer period. ​

The new investment announced by Microsoft on Thursday highlights the fierce competition among cloud computing giants in the field of AI infrastructure. Dutch technology company Nebius announced last week that it has secured a whopping $19.4 billion deal to provide AI computing power to Microsoft. Microsoft announced on Tuesday that it will invest an additional 15.5 billion US dollars in infrastructure in the UK. Scott Guthrie, vice president of Microsoft's cloud and artificial Intelligence, pointed out that the Wisconsin project is part of Microsoft's global AI infrastructure investment plan. Apart from Fairwater, we are also building multiple data centers of the same scale in other regions of the United States. Guthrie emphasized that these AI data centers "represent tens of billions of dollars in investment and hundreds of thousands of cutting-edge AI chips", and will be seamlessly integrated into Microsoft's cloud network covering over 400 data centers in 70 regions around the world. ​

Microsoft President Brad Smith said at a town hall meeting in Wisconsin that the company has begun to recruit full-time employees for the operation of its first data center. He revealed that he lived in Mount Pleasant for nearly five years during his childhood. "This moment is not just about personal nostalgia. It shows that Wisconsin not only has a long and proud industrial history, but is also helping to define the future of American innovation." ​

With the rapid development of AI technology, the demand for computing power has grown explosively. Microsoft's large-scale investment in building AI data centers this time will not only greatly enhance its competitiveness in the AI field, providing strong support for various AI applications and services, but also have a profound impact on the development of the entire industry, promoting the faster application of AI technology in various fields and accelerating industrial transformation and innovation. Its exploration in the sustainable development of energy has also provided new ideas and directions for the construction of data centers. ​