Microsoft’s Massive Investment in Wisconsin AI Data Center
Microsoft, the American software and cloud services company, plans to invest an additional $400 million over the next three years to build a second artificial intelligence (AI) data center in Wisconsin. This new investment will bring Microsoft’s spending in Wisconsin to over $700 million, including the costs for setting up the AI Fairwater data center.
The new data center, scheduled to open in early 2026, will be equipped with hundreds of thousands of NVIDIA graphics processing units designed to deliver ten times the performance of today’s fastest supercomputers. This investment underscores Microsoft’s commitment to advancing AI capabilities and fostering innovation in the region.
Skysense Announces Investment Plan for Mexico and Latin America
Skysense, a Mexican AI company, announced on Thursday an investment plan of $110 million for the remainder of 2023 and 2026. These funds will be allocated to accelerate projects in microgrids, solar energy, and battery storage.
Skysense aims to strengthen its position as a long-term strategic partner in the energy transition of businesses in Mexico and Latin America. The company seeks to expedite the shift towards a more competitive, resilient, and sustainable energy model in the region. Skysense provides energy services to large consumers and energy generators, optimizing costs, reducing emissions, ensuring operational continuity, and addressing electricity quality challenges for various sectors such as airports, industrial, real estate, and hospitality.
DeepSeek’s Low-Cost AI Training Model
DeepSeek, a Chinese AI developer, reported spending $294,000 to train its R1 model, a significantly lower amount compared to its American rivals. This revelation, published in a peer-reviewed article in the Nature journal, is likely to reignite discussions about China’s position in the global AI development race.
DeepSeek’s unusual disclosure of its model training costs—the first public estimation of these expenses—has raised concerns among global investors who fear that low-cost AI models might undermine the dominance of leading AI companies, such as NVIDIA.
Key Questions and Answers
- What is Microsoft investing in Wisconsin? Microsoft plans to invest $400 million in a second AI data center in Wisconsin, bringing its total spending in the state to over $700 million.
- Why is Skysense investing $110 million? Skysense aims to accelerate projects in microgrids, solar energy, and battery storage to support the energy transition of businesses in Mexico and Latin America.
- What is DeepSeek’s recent revelation about AI training costs? DeepSeek disclosed spending $294,000 to train its R1 model, which is considerably less than what its American competitors have spent. This disclosure has sparked discussions about China’s role in the global AI development race.
