SpaceX, the company owned by Elon Musk, announced Thursday more than $74 billion in investments in two supercomputing centers in the United States. More than $24 billion is to go to the Starbase complex in Texas, and about $50 billion will be earmarked for building a data center in Cochise, Arizona. The projects are meant to expand the company’s artificial intelligence capabilities and broaden its business beyond rocket technology and the Starlink satellite internet service.
It is another sign that SpaceX is looking even beyond outer space. According to the company’s financial data, the AI segment accounted for more than half of its revenue in the third quarter of this year. The company, which went public in June, is developing computing infrastructure alongside its existing space business. The new centers are meant to provide the technological backbone for the further development of artificial intelligence systems, including Grok.
The largest share of the planned spending, about $50 billion, will go to the project in Cochise County, Arizona. SpaceX estimates that building the complex could provide about 5,500 jobs, and that about 1,000 permanent positions would be created once it is up and running.
The company is working with local electric cooperatives on the project. SpaceX representatives expect that the investment will not only avoid raising their members’ energy bills but could lower them by as much as 20%. The campus is to use a dry cooling system, with no industrial withdrawal of groundwater.
Despite SpaceX’s assurances, some residents have come out against the project, and a petition urging officials to deny the permit has gathered about 2,400 signatures. The project’s fate will depend on the position of Cochise County authorities, who must consider the application for its approval.
SpaceX plans to invest another $24 billion at its Starbase space base in Texas. A city notice published this week indicates that the project includes building a computing center and a gas-fired power plant on a site of about 444 acres. The facility is to generate electricity for its own needs, without having to draw power from the public grid. According to SpaceX, the project has already provided more than 3,000 construction jobs, and once it is operating, the complex is expected to create more than 500 permanent positions.
The Texas project also depends on administrative decisions. The Starbase city commission is to consider a proposed property tax break for the investment in early December.
Editor: JŁ
