The xAI supercomputer needs power. Some worry what that could mean
Emissions coming from the gas turbines powering xAI's supercomputer Aug. 9, 2024. (Benjamin Naylor/The Daily Memphian file)
Environmental groups are worried about xAI’s expansion in Southwest Memphis, questioning what it will mean for air quality and the region’s power grid.
They are concerned about the expansion’s effect on Southwest Memphis neighborhoods, which already deal with emissions from nearby heavy industry.
Last week, xAI, the startup founded by Elon Musk, announced plans to expand its supercomputer to 1 million chips from its current 200,000, raising the question of how much power the fully expanded supercomputer will use. The chips run the complex computations that inform a large language model — the artificial intelligence that powers the chatbots on which people are already beginning to rely.
Elon Musk’s xAI poised to invest billions of dollars in Memphis supercomputer
Brent Mayo, the company’s head Memphis executive, and Greater Memphis Chamber CEO Ted Townsend said the company plans to be 100% off the Tennessee Valley Authority’s grid when demand is high. Mayo also said the startup is interested in partnering with other companies to generate power.
Environmental groups are concerned about the need for new power generation. Specifically, what will that new power generation be? And where?
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Samuel Hardiman
Samuel Hardiman is an enterprise and investigative reporter who focuses on local government and politics. He began his journalism career at the Tulsa World in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he covered business and, later, K-12 education. Hardiman came to Memphis in 2018 to join the Memphis Business Journal, covering government and economic development. He then served as the Memphis Commercial Appeal’s city hall reporter and later joined The Daily Memphian in 2023. His current work focuses on Elon Musk’s xAI, regional energy needs and how Memphis and Shelby County government spend taxpayer dollars.
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