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Big Tech’s great AI power grab

Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft are on the hunt for new energy sources

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Published Tue, May 7, 2024 · 05:00 AM
    • Combined with rising demand from increasingly electrified transport, heating and parts of heavy industry, digital technology’s power needs are putting enormous strain on the businesses that generate and distribute electricity.
    • Combined with rising demand from increasingly electrified transport, heating and parts of heavy industry, digital technology’s power needs are putting enormous strain on the businesses that generate and distribute electricity. PHOTO: AFP

    BIG Tech wants more computing power. A lot more.

    According to their latest quarterly reports, Alphabet (Google’s corporate parent), Amazon and Microsoft – the world’s cloud computing giants – collectively invested US$40 billion between January and March, most of it in data centres equipped to deal with growing artificial intelligence (AI) workloads.

    Last month, Meta, which does not have a cloud business but does run a data-hungry social media empire, said its capital expenditure could reach US$40 billion this year as a result of AI-related projects. That is not far off the US$50 billion that Saudi Aramco, an oil colossus, is planning to splurge. Microsoft is likely to spend more.

    Big TechArtificial IntelligenceGreen Energy

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