At a press briefing on Wednesday, the Greater Memphis Chamber made the latest development known, saying xAI, which was founded by Elon Musk will build what is referred to as the world’s largest supercomputer in Memphis. This mega project, known as ‘xAI’s Gigafactory of Computers, is worth several billion dollars and is the single largest investment in a new market in the city’s history, according to Ted Townsend, the President and CEO of the Houston Area Chamber of Commerce.
While the figures of the final number of jobs that will be created and the investment are yet to be released by xAI, the particular project is expected to start operations in the later part of this year and is anticipated to contribute to the growth of the economy of the particular region while at the same time introducing new technologies in the location.
However, the details surrounding this ambitious endeavour remain scarce, with Townsend citing global security concerns as the reason for withholding the project’s location. The former Electrolux facility south of President’s Island at 3231 Paul Lowry Road is widely speculated to be the site for the xAI supercomputer, as Milwaukee-based real estate company Phoenix Investors, which purchased the facility in December 2023, was among the entities thanked during the announcement.
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The absence of Elon Musk at Wednesday’s event, held at the Chamber’s downtown office, only added to the enigmatic nature of the project. Townsend also noted that the supercomputer initiative is still pending approval by the Economic Development Growth Engine for Memphis and Shelby County, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and other governing authorities.
Congressman Steve Cohen said, “This is great news for Memphis and the Memphis economy and will make our region a focus for the future of artificial intelligence. Mr. Musk’s smart decision to locate his supercomputer in Memphis will be a boon to our growing tech industry, attract new businesses, and create good jobs. The Chamber’s economic development team demonstrated remarkable coordination, swiftly providing solutions and rallying partners faster than any other community,”. He added, “Memphis emerged as a global nexus where velocity meets potency, which are attractive attributes to the xAI team.”
xAI, launched in July 2023, is already quite popular in the artificial intelligence industry. Memphis Mayor Paul Young stated “ “We have great partners at the Greater Memphis Chamber and MLGW who were ready to make this happen. We had an ideal site, ripe for investment, and we had the power of our people, who created new and innovative processes to keep up with the pace required to land this transformational project.”
While people wait for more details on Elon Musk’s innovation, the world is energized for the development opportunity the largest supercomputer in the world has presented to Memphis, which could make it a technological giant.
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