Microsoft, Oracle + OpenAI: $1 Trillion into AI Data Centers

In today's Cloud Wars Minute, I explore how Microsoft and Oracle
are battling for AI data center supremacy.


Highlights


00:15 — I want to talk about a couple of
high-disruption companies — actually, three: Microsoft, Oracle,
and OpenAI. And I think right now, it's safe to say that those
three companies, together with SoftBank, are pursuing investments
upwards of a trillion dollars in what they're calling AI data
centers. I think this is a great thing for them to do.


01:19 — Microsoft has become more vocal about
its role and leadership in these areas. Oracle, OpenAI, and
SoftBank are jointly building what is called Stargate, sort of
the infrastructure brand for OpenAI. Now, Microsoft has
introduced its own brand for its AI data centers, Fairwater. It's
in the final stages of building what it is calling the world’s
most powerful AI data center.


02:18 — And I have no doubt that fairly soon,
we're going to hear from Google Cloud about some of its plans. I
am less sanguine, in some ways, about what Amazon and AWS might
do. I know that runs contrary to what a lot of people like to say
— that AWS is still the king of the cloud. I haven’t — you know,
I just haven’t taken that seriously in the last two or three
years.


03:14 — So, Microsoft is doing very well with
AI. Now, OpenAI, led by Sam Altman — they’re still doing some
work with Microsoft on the cloud and AI. But it's putting —
starting in a year or two — a $300 billion investment with Oracle
to build a chain of just absolutely staggeringly big, powerful
data centers under the Stargate name.


04:09 — It’ll work with Oracle very closely on
that. They’re also — in concert in some places and separately in
others — pursuing some new data center deals with SoftBank. So
OpenAI is working with Microsoft, working with Oracle, working
with SoftBank — all in different ways. Oracle also has its own
data center network for its rapidly growing cloud and AI
business.


05:01 — So lots of talk right now, lots of
action, lots of investment going into this. But ultimately, the
beneficiaries of all this incredible — what I think is
unprecedented — competition, will be businesses and regular
individuals like you and me.


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