5 Notable Data Center Links, Sept. 6
Anthropic Goes Big, KKR Hires AWS Exec. Also, Custom Chips at OpenAI?
Here are five notable links from the data center sector. This isn’t an exhaustive look at last week’s news links. Instead, I’ve curated 5 links that I find particularly interesting, with my commentary on why they merit your attention.
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5 Notable Links
AWS & Anthropic’s Multi-Gigawatt Trainium Expansion - “AWS is building datacenters faster than it ever has in its entire history,” writes the SemiAnalysis team, which digs into how Anthropic has become a massive customer for Amazon, making a huge commitment to AWS data centers and custom silicon. The result is the “world’s largest cluster of non-Nvidia AI chips, with just under a million Trainium2 in the largest campus.” Really interesting read.
Report: OpenAI to Start Mass-Producing AI Chips - OpenAI has been hiring a lot of top-tier data center talent lately, so it’s no surprise that they’re looking to optimize all the way down to the silicon. The FT reports that OpenAI is the mystery $10 billion customer referenced in BroadCom’s earnings call Thursday night. DCD’s recap fills out the picture with some of its prior reporting on OpenAI’s hiring of veteran chip technologists.
Former AWS CEO Adam Selipsky Joins KKR - Some of the largest investors in the AI boom have multi-faceted strategies that span data centers and energy, and these holdings aren’t always easy to knit together strategically. That’s why KKR has hired AWS alum Selipsky. “We believe this is a transformational moment for the sector,” said KKR’s Waldemar Szlezak. “KKR is advancing a coordinated strategy that unites its data center, energy and digital infrastructure investments into one platform purpose-built for hyperscalers and AI developers.”
Georgia and Pennsylvania Surging in U.S. Data Center Race - A new report from DC Byte includes data points on the ambitious projects seen in Georgia and Pennsylvania, which have been big beneficiaries of power constraints in other major markets. It adds up to 27.5 Gigawatts of combined IT capacity across the two states. The report highlights the role of energy (nuclear in Georgia, natural gas in Pennsylvania) in this growth.
Quantinuum Raises $600 Million - There’s growing buzz about quantum computing, at least among investors, who had a busy week positioning themselves for the quantum future. The biggest news was a $600 million equity raise for Quantinuum, a startup backed by Honeywell and Cambridge Quantum. New investors included NVentures (NVIDIA), JP Morgan and Quanta Computer. Meanwhile, European quantum startup IQM raised $320 million.
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