Microsoft, led by Satya Nadella, introduces Fairwater: a groundbreaking AI datacenter in Wisconsin engineered for exponential AI workloads with unmatched sustainability and compute capacity.

Microsoft Announces Fairwater: World’s Most Powerful AI Datacenter Launches in Wisconsin

Microsoft has officially announced the launch of Fairwater, a next-generation AI datacenter located in southeastern Wisconsin. According to Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s Chairman and CEO, Fairwater represents a significant leap forward in AI infrastructure and cloud computing, both in scale and engineering.

Key Features and Achievements

  • GPU Scale and Performance: Fairwater houses hundreds of thousands of NVIDIA GB200 GPUs, all connected via high-bandwidth fiber spanning a distance that could circle the earth 4.5 times. This setup enables the datacenter to deliver ten times the performance of the fastest supercomputers currently in operation.
  • Integrated System Architecture: The datacenter, GPU fleet, and its network are purpose-built as a single, unified system. This allows exponential scaling of AI training workloads—single jobs can run from day one across thousands of GPUs.
  • Sustainable Cooling: Utilizing a closed-loop liquid cooling system, Fairwater operates with zero water usage after construction. The cooling process is further enhanced by external fins and massive fan arrays, meeting efficiency and peak-load demands.
  • Renewable Energy Commitment: All energy consumed by Fairwater is matched with renewable sources, supporting Microsoft’s goals for sustainability and environmental responsibility.
  • Global Expansion: Fairwater is among several identical sites being constructed across the US and in Microsoft’s 70+ global regions. The AI infrastructure, including over 100 datacenters worldwide, enables model training, real-time inference, and RL tuning at a truly global scale.
  • Storage and Data Processing: The facility is equipped with exabytes of storage capability and modern rack designs, supporting massive data requirements for advanced AI clusters.
  • Community Partnership: Microsoft is coordinating with local communities to ensure the datacenter delivers economic benefits, new jobs, and expanded opportunities in a sustainable manner.

Technical Highlights

  • NVIDIA Integration: Fairwater is built around cutting-edge NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 racks, offering immense GPU-to-GPU bandwidth and pooled memory, ideal for high-throughput AI tasks.
  • Cluster Computing: Each rack operates as a single giant accelerator with a maximum throughput of over 865,000 tokens per second, making it the highest available throughput on any cloud platform today.
  • Exponential Compute: The site’s infrastructure is designed to support exponential scaling and efficiency, with architecture that enables integrated compute, network, and storage at petascale and beyond.

Environmental and Societal Impact

  • Sustainability: Fairwater’s design minimizes environmental impact, focusing on renewable energy and closed-loop cooling systems to eliminate operational water use post-construction.
  • Job Creation: Microsoft’s collaboration with local partners prioritizes sustainable growth and community opportunity.

Learn More

Fairwater sets a new global benchmark for both performance and sustainability in AI infrastructure, laying groundwork for continued advances in cloud-based artificial intelligence.

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