OpenAI to Build Data Center Consuming Power Equivalent to Three Nuclear Reactors

OpenAI is building a massive data center that consumes power on the scale of three nuclear reactors. On Wednesday (local time), OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, announced the launch of 'Project Camellia' to build a 3.2 GW data center in Effingham County, Georgia. One GW is typically the generating capacity of a single nuclear reactor, meaning this scale is equivalent to three reactors. OpenAI shifted its direction as the 'Stargate' project in the U.S., which it was pursuing in collaboration with SoftBank and Oracle, showed no progress, and it withdrew from overseas data center projects in the UK and Norway.

It is investing $20 billion in this project, and costs are expected to exceed $30 billion (approximately 44 trillion won) by completion. With the acceleration of infrastructure expansion in line with the latest technology trends, OpenAI has revised up its projected AI computing expenditure for 2030 from the previous $600 billion to $750 billion (approximately 1,100 trillion won).

Competitors are also expanding infrastructure investments to keep pace with the latest technology trends. xAI, led by Elon Musk, is proceeding with groundwork to build a new data center in Texas.

Regarding this infrastructure investment competition, the 'AI Summit' will be held in San Francisco, USA, on the 24th (local time), attended by about 150 global AI industry officials, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang.