"The world's strongest AI data center" is coming to an end, Microsoft is set to invest another $4 billion to build 2.0

Microsoft is transforming into an AI infrastructure powerhouse, increasing investment in data center construction.

On Thursday, the 18th, Eastern Time, Microsoft announced that the "world's most powerful AI data center," built with an investment of $3.3 billion in Wisconsin, USA, will be operational in early 2026. The company plans to invest an additional $4 billion to construct a second data center of equal scale in the same state, bringing the total investment in the state to over $7 billion.

The nearly completed data center is named Fairwater. Microsoft stated that it will operate as a large AI supercomputer, connecting hundreds of thousands of the latest NVIDIA GPUs through a single flat network, becoming a powerful AI training facility, initially used for training OpenAI models. Fairwater covers 315 acres and includes three buildings with a total area of 1.2 million square feet, deploying hundreds of thousands of NVIDIA GB200 GPUs.

Microsoft President Brad Smith stated that the data center integrates the most advanced NVIDIA GPUs, powerful network connections, and system architecture, enabling it to train AI models that are more advanced than ever before. CEO Satya Nadella mentioned that Fairwater's performance will reach ten times that of the current fastest supercomputer in the world.

The new investment announced by Microsoft this Thursday highlights the fierce competitive momentum of cloud computing giants in the AI infrastructure sector. Dutch tech company Nebius announced last week that it secured a maximum $19.4 billion contract to provide AI computing power for Microsoft. On Tuesday, Microsoft announced an additional investment of $15.5 billion in infrastructure in the UK.

Wisconsin Project: Technical Specifications and Innovative Breakthroughs

The Wisconsin data center project showcases Microsoft's technical ambitions in AI infrastructure construction. According to Microsoft President Brad Smith, the construction of the facility requires 120 miles of medium-voltage underground cables and 72.6 miles of mechanical piping.

The data center employs a unique two-layer building design to achieve tighter network connections and reduce latency. Smith stated, "The combination of the number of NVIDIA GPUs, GPU performance, and the network and systems connecting all computing capabilities makes this project so cutting-edge."

The facility is equipped with a state-of-the-art cooling system, with over 90% of the facility using a closed-loop system to circulate water and chemicals without the need for replenishment. The remaining portion uses external air cooling, switching to water cooling only during high-temperature weather. Smith noted that the annual water consumption of a single data center is equivalent to the water usage of a typical 18-hole golf course during peak summer weeks

Executives' Statements: Betting on the Scaling of AI Infrastructure

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella expressed on social media platform X: "If intelligence is the logarithm of computing... then it starts with massive computing! That’s why we are scaling GPU clusters faster than anyone else."

Nadella revealed that Microsoft added over 2GW of capacity just last year, "which is roughly equivalent to the output power of two nuclear power plants." He emphasized that Fairwater consists of "hundreds of thousands of NVIDIA GB200 seamless clusters connected by enough fiber optics to circle the Earth 4.5 times."

Microsoft President Brad Smith stated at a town hall meeting in Wisconsin that the company has begun hiring full-time employees for the operation of its first data center. He revealed that he lived in Mount Pleasant for nearly five years during his childhood, saying, "This moment signifies not just personal nostalgia; it indicates that Wisconsin not only has a long and proud industrial history but is also helping to define the future of American innovation."

Global Expansion Strategy: Simultaneous Advancement of AI Facilities in Multiple Locations

Scott Guthrie, Microsoft’s Vice President of Cloud + AI, stated that the Wisconsin project is part of a wave of AI infrastructure investments being advanced globally by Microsoft. "In addition to the Fairwater data center in Wisconsin, we have several other similar Fairwater data centers under construction in other parts of the United States."

Last week, Nebius in Amsterdam, Netherlands, announced that Microsoft has agreed to spend up to $19.4 billion over five years to lease data center capacity from the company. This week, there were also announcements of some of Microsoft's international investments outside the United States: Microsoft announced a joint venture with nScale and Aker to develop a new hyperscale AI data center in Narvik, Norway; Microsoft announced a partnership with nScale to build the largest supercomputer in the UK in Loughton.

Guthrie emphasized that these AI data centers "represent hundreds of billions of dollars in investment and hundreds of thousands of cutting-edge AI chips," which will seamlessly connect with Microsoft's cloud network of over 400 data centers in 70 regions worldwide. On Tuesday, Smith stated that Microsoft has committed to an additional investment of $15.5 billion in infrastructure in the UK by 2028.

Microsoft has also reached an agreement with Amsterdam's Nebius Group to spend up to $19.4 billion over five years to lease AI data center capacity, further expanding its global AI infrastructure network