MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Months after xAI put its operations in Memphis, Elon Musk finally announced why he chose the Bluff City to host the world's largest artificial intelligence supercomputer.
At the end of a product release streamed on X Monday, Musk revealed why he chose the former Electrolux building in southwest Memphis.
It all came down to timing. Musk says he was able to get xAI up and running within 122 days because he used an abandoned building instead of taking the time to start from the ground up.
In the beginning, he was quoted around 18-24 months to build the data center, stating that "in 18-24 months... that means losing is a certainty. The only option is to do it ourselves."
"We needed a building. Well, we can't build a building, so we must use an existing building," Musk said.
He said the search then began for a factory that was vacant but was still in good shape.
"So we found an Electrolux factory in Memphis. That's why it is in Memphis. Home of Elvis," said Musk. "It was a very nice factory, for whatever reason, Electrolux left. That gave us shelter for the computers."
Grok 3, the product Musk was releasing in the video, is an AI app powered by the Memphis supercomputer.
On Tuesday, the Memphis City Council approved selling additional land to xAI, where the company will use the land to build a water recycling facility to cool its Colossus supercomputer and two nearby industries.
xAI will purchase the 13 acres of city-owned land near the company's current site for $820,000, where they will build an $80 million facility used to recycle wastewater from a nearby water treatment plant.
Source:
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