Alibaba Cloud plans six-year stroll to 20GW of datacenters, reveals chip to power them
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USA alone has 37GW under construction, but Alibaba doesn't think the AI boom will run out of steam
The one-panel cartoon
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Caption: Alibaba's six-year journey to 20GW of datacenters begins with a new AI-powered chip, while the USA has already started construction on 37GW of datacenters.
Read the full 3-panel strip
Based on the original story on theregister.com.
Editor's note
This announcement underscores Alibaba's strategic vision for its cloud computing infrastructure as it looks to expand significantly over the next six years, positioning itself ahead of the curve in anticipation of continued growth in AI and data-intensive applications.
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Panel 1
Alex, a young and enthusiastic inventor, stands in front of his makeshift lab, surrounded by prototypes. He points to a large glowing datacenter model and says, Sam, standing next to Alex, rolls his eyes and says with a deadpan expression, Robin, a chaotic figure with a mischievous grin, bursts into the room carrying a bag of mysterious chips.
Narrator: Imagine if I could design datacenters so efficient and powerful that they could power themselves with nothing but solar energy. We could run 20 gigawatts of datacenters on just a fraction of what it costs today!
Narrator: 20 gigawatts? That’s a lot of electricity. But let’s be real, the AI boom isn’t going anywhere. So you’re still way off with just solar energy.
Narrator: Hey, I just heard these chips are the next big thing. They’re so tiny they can power a whole datacenter with just a few chips. This is the future, guys.
Panel 2
Alex, visibly inspired, looks at Robin and says, Sam shakes his head, shaking his head sadly as he says, Robin, chuckling, throws the chip bag into the air, catches it mid-air, and says,
Narrator: Those chips? I can turn it into a solar-powered datacenter! Maybe even give us a 20 gigawatt edge over everyone else. Solar chips? Solar chips are the way to go!
Narrator: Well, solar chips or not, you’d still need to build the datacenters. And that’s a whole lot of construction. But good luck with the idea, Alex.
Narrator: Hey, I’ve got more where that came from. And you know what else? I bet I can make this chip smaller than a grain of sand. And then we’re really talking about a 20 gigawatt empire!
Panel 3
The room is filled with the sound of construction equipment as Alex, Sam, and Robin are seen in various stages of their futuristic datacenter projects. Alex is sketching a blueprint, Sam is calculating datacenter cost estimates, and Robin is making tiny chip models. Alex, looking up, says with a gleam in his eye, Sam, looking up from his laptop, says with a sigh, Robin, holding up a tiny chip, looks around the room with a grin,
Narrator: Hey Sam, did you know we could make the chips even smaller? Like, a million times smaller. And then we’ve got the solar chips too. 20 gigawatts, right there. Just like that!
Narrator: Alex, we’re not even close. We’d need a team of engineers and researchers for a decade to pull that off. But I’ll keep my ear to the ground for the next big breakthrough, alright?
Narrator: Alright, let’s make this happen. I’ve got a whole bunch more of these chips. And I’ve heard they can power a city, not just a datacenter.
Panel 4
end.
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