Happy Thanksgiving Eve, and welcome to Data Center Digest. 🦃
We’re covering the business and technology of data centers and digital infrastructure.

Here’s what we’re looking at today:

• We just lost our best shot at nuclear-powered data centers

• Microsoft announces homemade chips to supercharge cloud computing

• What’s more: China is building millions of humanoid robots and PowerCampus is coming to Dallas

• Hot Links:🌭 Are we the jerks?, and Submer’s liquid cooling

Est. read time: 5mins 12secs

Our best chance at SMRs just kicked the bucket

We’ve discussed at length both the exciting advantages and unwarranted hype surrounding Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). Their small size makes them easier to cool and transport while keeping the economics relatively workable for one-off projects.

However, the industry has taken several major blows in recent years, and it was just dealt a crushing one.

NuScale project cancelled

By far the most high-profile SMR project in the country, the Carbon Free Power Project, has been canceled. The news came last week when Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) announced that it was pulling out of the CFPP, leaving SMR developer NuScale without a major utility partner.

The planned SMR was a 462MW facility to be built at the Dept. of Energy’s Idaho National Lab. It was slated for a 2029 launch.

However, in January, NuScale raised the target price for power from the SMR to $89/MWh from $58/MWh, citing a “changing financial landscape for the development of energy projects nationwide.

This was not a good sign. Rising costs and falling alternative energy prices spurred UAMPS and other partners to pull out of the project.
NuScale and UAMPS announced last Wednesday that due to a lack of utility partners on board, the project would be shut down.

Nuscale has the only approved SMR design currently in the United States. And this project, which was years in the making, was by far its best shot at it coming to fruition.

Now what?

The cancellation is a major blow both to the promising SMR field and to a data center industry that is grasping for alternative methods of powering its increasingly massive facilities.

The same is true for nuclear power in the US in general. There are no reactors planned, and the few projects announced over the last two decades have been complete disasters.

NuScale’s CEO, John Hopkins is optimistic though. Hopkins highlighted a number of other partnerships and projects, including plans to develop two NuScale VOYGR-12 power plants that will have a combined capacity of nearly 2 GW and power nearby data centers in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

No word on when those are expected to begin construction…

Microsoft one-ups the cloud with first homemade AI chips

Microsoft is stepping into a new era of cloud computing with its own custom AI chip and Arm-based CPU, designed to power Azure data centers and meet the rising demands of enterprise.

New chips on the block

The Azure Maia AI chip, tailored for AI workloads, and the Azure Cobalt CPU, designed for general cloud services, are set to launch in 2024.

The Maia AI chip focuses on running cloud AI workloads, such as training and inference for large language models, and will power significant AI tasks within Microsoft's Azure, including collaborations with OpenAI.

The Azure Cobalt CPU, an Arm-based 128-core processor, aims to enhance general cloud services on Azure.

These chips are a part of Microsoft's broader strategy to optimize cloud server performance, power, and cost, marking a deep overhaul of its cloud infrastructure.

Here are some specs:

Azure Maia AI Accelerator:

• Purpose: Designed for cloud-based training and inferencing of AI workloads, such as OpenAI models, Bing, GitHub Copilot, and ChatGPT.

• Specifications: The Maia 100, the first generation in this series, boasts 105 billion transistors, making it one of the largest chips using 5nm process technology.

• Features: The Maia 100 includes innovations across silicon, software, network, racks, and cooling capabilities, providing end-to-end systems optimization specifically for groundbreaking AI applications like GPT

Azure Cobalt CPU

• Architecture and Purpose: Built on Arm architecture, this custom in-house CPU series is designed for optimal performance and watt efficiency, powering common cloud workloads in the Microsoft Cloud.

• Specifications: The Cobalt 100, the first generation in the series, is a 64-bit, 128-core chip. It delivers up to 40 percent performance improvement over current generations of Azure Arm chips.

• Applications: It is currently being tested powering workloads on services like Microsoft Teams and Azure SQL​​.

So what?

Microsoft's foray into custom silicon is a move towards greater self-reliance and optimization in its cloud infrastructure.

This development reflects Microsoft's long history in silicon, dating back to its work on the Xbox and Surface devices. With these chips, Microsoft aims to reduce its dependence on external suppliers like Nvidia and diversify its cloud computing capabilities.

The Maia AI chip, with its focus on AI tasks, and the Cobalt CPU's general cloud application signify a significant shift in Microsoft's strategy to meet the growing demands for AI and cloud computing.

- What’s More -

Skybox and Bandera are bringing PowerCampus to Dallas

Skybox Datacenters has begun developing a new data center campus in Dallas, Texas, named PowerCampus Dallas, in collaboration with Bandera Ventures. The campus, located near downtown Dallas, will feature up to 300MW of power and one million square feet of data center space.

PowerCampus benefits from its strategic location, offering connectivity and expansion opportunities. Designed to cater to large-scale data center clients, PowerCampus Dallas aims to meet the high-density computing needs in the Dallas area.
This development is part of Skybox Datacenters' ongoing commitment to providing large-scale data center solutions across major U.S. markets.

 Read more here

China plans mass humanoid adoption by 2025

China aims to achieve mass production of humanoid robots by 2025 and reach advanced levels of technology by 2027, as outlined in a nine-page report by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

This initiative is part of China's broader goal to enhance its domestic industrial supply chain and establish itself as a leader in robotics and emerging technologies.

The report highlights the ambition to make humanoid robots a key driver of economic growth and to transform them into "disruptive products" that will significantly impact human lives and reshape global economies.

China's increasing emphasis on robotics is evident from recent initiatives like Beijing's $1.4 billion robotics fund and the country's rising status in global robot density deployment, surpassing the United States.

Here’s my take: No one really knows just how bad China’s demographics problem is. It might be very, very bad. Like existentially bad. It wouldn’t be surprising if China sees robotics as a possible remedy to stave off its demographic challenges.

Read more here

Hot Links 🌭

That’s it. Thanks a lot for reading.

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- Taylor