Colossus (supercomputer)

The supercomputer was launched in September 2024, at the former Electrolux site on 3231 Paul R. Lowry Road in South Memphis to train the AI language model Grok. According to reports, Elon Musk and his xAI team took 19 days to move from the concept phase to readiness for Nvidia's equipment. In comparison, other data centers have taken an average of four years to complete the planning of the project, ship the equipment, and have it installed.{{Cite web |author1=Aaron Klotz |date=2024-10-14 |title=Elon Musk set up 100,000 Nvidia H200 GPUs in 19 days - Jensen says process normally takes 4 years |url=https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/gpus/elon-musk-took-19-days-to-set-up-100-000-nvidia-h200-gpus-process-normally-takes-4-years |access-date=2025-04-25 |website=Tom's Hardware |language=en |archive-date=2025-03-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250330093554/https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/gpus/elon-musk-took-19-days-to-set-up-100-000-nvidia-h200-gpus-process-normally-takes-4-years |url-status=live }}

File:ColossusSite.webp

A supercomputer is "high-speed and high-functioning computer system capable of performing tasks faster than regular computers." Like a brain, it takes in and puts out information and is capable of solving solving complex problems.

The site was chosen because the abandoned factory building could be repurposed to expedite construction.{{cite news |date=19 February 2025 |title=Elon Musk finally reveals 'why Memphis' for xAI supercomputer |url=https://wreg.com/news/local/xai-memphis/elon-musk-finally-reveals-why-memphis-for-xai-supercomputer/ |access-date=26 April 2025 |work=WREG.com}} Another advantage of the site was proximity to a nearby wastewater treatment facility providing a water source. As of February, 2025 xAI plans to build an $80 million facility to process additional wastewater for use at the supercomputer.{{cite news |last1=Comment |first1=Matthew Gooding |date=21 February 2025 |title=Elon Musk's xAI plans $80m wastewater treatment plant to service Memphis supercomputer |url=https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/elon-musk-xai-memphis-supercomputer-wastewater-treatment/ |access-date=26 April 2025 |work=www.datacenterdynamics.com |language=en}}

Musk incorporated xAI in March 2023 with the stated purpose of understanding the "nature of the universe".{{Cite magazine |last=Henshall |first=Will |date=2023-07-12 |title=What to Know About Elon Musk's New AI Company, xAI |url=https://time.com/6294278/elon-musk-xai/ |access-date=2025-04-26 |magazine=TIME |language=en}} The team includes former members of OpenAI, Deepmind, Microsoft, and Tesla. Musk has a history of involvement in aritifical intelligence; he was one of the founding members of the company OpenAI, although the extent of his financial contribution is unclear. He left OpenAI in 2018, reportedly to avoid conflicts of interest with his own company Tesla. However, it has also been reported that he had made a bid for leadership at OpenAI and left when his proposal was rejected. The exact reasons for his departure with the company remain unclear.

Both Dell Technologies and Supermicro partnered with xAI to build the supercomputer. It was originally powered by 100,000 GPUs (Graphic Processing Units) and was constructed in 122 days.{{Cite web |title=Colossus {{!}} xAI |url=https://x.ai/colossus |access-date=2025-04-25 |website=x.ai |language=en |archive-date=2025-04-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250418115307/https://x.ai/colossus |url-status=live }} The chips were supplied primarily by Nvidia, which currently manufactures some of the most powerful processing chips on the market. Each GPU is housed within one of Supermicro's 4U Universal GPU Liquid Cooling Systems to prevent overheating.{{Cite web |author1=Dallin Grimm |date=2024-10-28 |title=First in-depth look at Elon Musk's 100,000 GPU AI cluster — xAI Colossus reveals its secrets |url=https://www.tomshardware.com/desktops/servers/first-in-depth-look-at-elon-musks-100-000-gpu-ai-cluster-xai-colossus-reveals-its-secrets |access-date=2025-04-25 |website=Tom's Hardware |language=en}} Ninety-two days after the first 100,000 GPUs were built, xAI announced that they had increased the system to 200,000 GPUs and that they intended to continue growing to 1 million GPUs.{{Cite web |last=Hetzner |first=Christiaan |title=Elon Musk's just fired up 'Colossus'—the world's largest Nvidia GPU supercomputer |url=https://fortune.com/2024/09/03/elon-musk-xai-nvidia-colossus/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250204034018/https://fortune.com/2024/09/03/elon-musk-xai-nvidia-colossus/ |archive-date=2025-02-04 |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=Fortune |language=en}}{{Cite web |last1=Morris |first1=Stephen |last2=Kinder |first2=Tabby |date=December 4, 2024 |title=Elon Musk plans to expand Colossus AI supercomputer tenfold |url=https://www.ft.com/content/9c0516cf-dd12-4665-aa22-712de854fe2f |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241204215106/https://www.ft.com/content/9c0516cf-dd12-4665-aa22-712de854fe2f |archive-date=December 4, 2024 |work=Financial Times}} Colossus is currently the largest AI training platform in the world.

Grok, xAI's AI language mode powered by Colossus, is to be "...your truth-seeking AI companion for unfiltered answers with advanced capabilities in reasoning, coding, and visual processing".{{Cite web |title=Grok {{!}} xAI |url=https://x.ai/grok |access-date=2025-04-26 |website=x.ai |language=en}} The chatbot is heavily inspired by science fiction; the name Grok comes from a term coined by author Robert A. Heinlein in his 1961 novel Stranger in a Strange Land to describe the ability  "...to understand intuitively or by empathy, to establish rapport with" and it is modeled after the irreverent and dry humor of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.{{Cite web |last=Sircar |first=Anisha |title=The 'Unhinged' AI Chatbot: How Elon Musk's Grok Is Shaking Up Social Media |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/anishasircar/2025/03/19/the-unhinged-ai-chatbot-how-elon-musks-grok-is-shaking-up-social-media/ |access-date=2025-04-26 |website=Forbes |language=en}} Grok1 was initially launched in 2023, and several versions have been released since. The most recent, Grok3, was announced in February of 2025 and is currently in its beta testing phase.{{Cite web |title=Grok 3 Beta — The Age of Reasoning Agents {{!}} xAI |url=https://x.ai/news/grok-3 |access-date=2025-04-27 |website=x.ai |language=en}}

X was acquired by xAI on March 28, 2025, as a result of the acquisition the platform would be integrated further with xAI's models which are powered by Colossus. New features using this integration include a Grok-powered home feed and algorithm.{{Cite web |title=https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1915983940399300686 |url=https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1915983940399300686 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250426044833/https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1915983940399300686 |archive-date=2025-04-26 |access-date=2025-04-27 |website=X (formerly Twitter) |language=en}}

Musk and xAI chose Memphis primarily because it offered a ready-made home for Colossus in the former Electrolux site.{{Cite news |date=2025-02-19 |title=Elon Musk finally reveals 'why Memphis' for xAI supercomputer |url=https://wreg.com/news/local/xai-memphis/elon-musk-finally-reveals-why-memphis-for-xai-supercomputer/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250401125851/https://wreg.com/news/local/xai-memphis/elon-musk-finally-reveals-why-memphis-for-xai-supercomputer/ |archive-date=2025-04-01 |access-date=2025-04-26 |work=WREG.com |language=en-US}} Elon Musk was initially told that building the data center would take 18–24 months. He stated how this extended construction timeline “...means losing is a certainty…only option is to do it ourselves.” {{Cite news |title=xAI |url=https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1gqGvjeBljOGB |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250426005421/https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1gqGvjeBljOGB |archive-date=2025-04-26 |access-date=2025-04-27 |work=X (formerly Twitter) |language=en}} Musk instead began looking for a vacant and existing building, and this was when he found the Electrolux factory in Memphis, Tennessee. The global appliance maker Electrolux first opened the facility in 2012, but it shut down in 2020 to relocate to Nashville.{{Cite web |last=Green |first=Jordan |title=Is Elon Musk's xAI coming to Memphis Electrolux site? Why facility has been vacant and what to know |url=https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/money/business/2024/06/06/memphis-electrolux-facility-location-elon-musk-xai/73997790007/ |access-date=2025-04-27 |website=The Commercial Appeal |language=en-US}} The center is 785,000 square foot and was previously purchased by Phoenix Investors in December 2023 for $35 million.{{Cite web |last=Green |first=Jordan |title=Is Elon Musk's xAI coming to Memphis Electrolux site? Why facility has been vacant and what to know |url=https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/money/business/2024/06/06/memphis-electrolux-facility-location-elon-musk-xai/73997790007/ |access-date=2025-04-27 |website=The Commercial Appeal |language=en-US}} Using an existing space rather than building one from the ground up allowed the company to begin working on the computer immediately. Greater Memphis Chamber CEO Tedd Townsend revealed to Forbes that xAI had considered seven or eight other sites before selecting Memphis. {{Cite web |last=Emerson |first=Sarah |title=How Memphis Became the Site of Elon Musk’s xAI Supercomputer |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahemerson/2024/07/17/inside-elon-musks-mad-dash-to-build-a-giant-xai-supercomputer-in-memphis/ |access-date=2025-04-27 |website=Forbes |language=en}} Townsend also stated it took Elon Musk about a week to finalize this decision to build the new supercomputer for xAI in Memphis. With this finalization completed in March 2024, the construction of the supercomputer started right away. The announcement of the building of Colossus in the city of Memphis was made during a press conference in June. {{Cite news |title=How Memphis became a battleground over Elon Musk's xAI supercomputer |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/09/11/nx-s1-5088134/elon-musk-ai-xai-supercomputer-memphis-pollution |access-date=2025-04-27 |work=NPR |language=en}}

The building was not the only incentive xAI had to choose Memphis, however. In the Greater Memphis Chamber’s website, it also states that xAI chose Memphis because of its “reliable power grid, ability to create a water recycling facility, proximity to the Mississippi (River) and ample land." {{Cite web |title=xAI |url=https://memphischamber.com/economic-development/xai/ |access-date=2025-04-27 |website=Greater Memphis Chamber |language=en-US}} Altogether, the city had the ability to provide the massive amounts of energy needed to run the machine. The site continues to go into detail about how the AI company would benefit from the collaboration with local organizations such as MLGW, TVA, the City of Memphis, and Shelby County. It emphasizes the importance of these partnerships, especially once the supercomputer reaches full capacity, which will require millions of gallons of water daily and 150 megawatts of electricity. The city also provided financial incentives to the company, understanding how the presence of the supercomputer could turn Memphis into a tech hub. The ability of the Greater Memphis Chamber to expedite approvals and negotiations also allowed for the project's quick initiation, which was deeply important to Musk and the xAI team.{{Cite web |last=Hanley |first=Steve |date=2024-12-19 |title=Musk & xAI Colossus Brings Spike In Emissions & Demand For Electricity To Memphis |url=https://cleantechnica.com/2024/12/19/musk-xai-colossus-brings-spike-in-emissions-demand-for-electricity-to-memphis/ |access-date=2025-04-26 |website=CleanTechnica |language=en-US}}

AI requires more electricity to complete even simple tasks compared to typical search queries.{{Cite news |title=AI brings soaring emissions for Google and Microsoft, a major contributor to climate change |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/07/12/g-s1-9545/ai-brings-soaring-emissions-for-google-and-microsoft-a-major-contributor-to-climate-change |access-date=2025-04-26 |work=NPR |language=en}} A majority of the energy needed to generate the answers in AI queries comes from burning fossil fuels such as coal and gas, which are leading drivers of climate change. The United States is currently home to a third of the all data centers worldwide. Utility companies are adding new gas plants, while older power plants are redeveloped to meet the demand in a booming AI industry. Clean energy deployments cannot keep pace with the rapid expansion of AI data centers.{{Cite web |date=2025-04-15 |title=To power AI, data centers need more and more energy |url=https://news.ucsb.edu/2025/021835/power-ai-data-centers-need-more-and-more-energy |access-date=2025-04-26 |website=The Current |language=en}}  AI requires power from thousands of servers that are contained in data centers, such as Colossus, and these data centers require "extensive amounts of energy".

At the site of Colossus in South Memphis, xAI applied to temporarily set up more than one dozen gas turbines, which would steadily burn methane gas. However, according to advocacy groups, aerial imagery in April 2025 showed 35 gas turbines had been set up.{{Cite web |last=Kolodny |first=Lora |date=2025-04-11 |title=Elon Musk's xAI is polluting air in Memphis, using more gas turbines than permitted, advocacy group says |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/10/elon-musks-xai-accused-polluting-air-in-memphis-selc-says-in-letter.html |access-date=2025-04-26 |website=CNBC |language=en}} These turbines have been estimated to generate about "421 megawatts, which compares to the capacity of an entire Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) power plant". According to the Southern Environmental Law Center, the higher number of gas turbines and the subsequent emissions requires xAI to have a 'major source permit,' however, the company continues to operate with no permits at all.{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Chauncy |date=2025-04-09 |title=Memphis xAI datacenter nearly doubles its gas turbines 'without any permit,' SELC says |url=https://www.actionnews5.com/2025/04/09/memphis-xai-datacenter-nearly-doubles-its-gas-turbines-without-any-permit-selc-says/ |access-date=2025-04-26 |website=https://www.actionnews5.com |language=en}} In Memphis, Musk's xAI was able to sidestep some environmental rules in the construction of Colossus, such as operating without permits for the on-site methane gas turbines because they are "portable". The Shelby County Health department told NPR that "it only regulates gas-burning generators if they're in the same location for more than 364 days. xAI plans to eventually draw power from Memphis Light Gas and Water (MLGW).

In the historically Black neighborhood of South Memphis, poor air quality has given residents elevated asthma rates and lower life expectancy.{{Cite web |date=2021-11-02 |title=The Most Detailed Map of Cancer-Causing Industrial Air Pollution in the U.S. |url=https://projects.propublica.org/toxmap/ |access-date=2025-04-26 |website=ProPublica |language=en}} A ProPublica report found that the cancer risk for those living in this area already have four times the risk of cancer than what the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers to be an acceptable risk.

Along with high electricity needs, the expected water demand is over five million gallons of water per day in "an area where arsenic pollution threatens the drinking water supply". This is reported by the non-profit Protect Our Aquifer, a community organization founded to protect the drinking water in Memphis.{{Cite web |title=Protect our Aquifer |url=https://www.protectouraquifer.org/issues/xai-supercomputer |access-date=2025-04-26 |website=www.protectouraquifer.org}}

According to MLGW, their customers will reap some benefits from the xAI project as well. The project is expected to create around 300 high-paying jobs. Additionally, xAI is partnering with the City of Memphis, MLGW and TVA to construct a "graywater/recycled wastewater facility that will take in treated wastewater and produce water suitable for cooling processes", putting recycled wastewater to productive use and  reduce the daily draw on Memphis' aquifer by up to 10 million gallons per day.{{Cite web |title=Memphis Light, Gas and Water - Error |url=https://www.mlgw.com/errors/ |access-date=2025-04-26 |website=www.mlgw.com}} Yet, there are no concrete plans for the promised wastewater facility, only the one-page factsheet shared by MLGW.{{Cite web |last1=Magazine |first1=Harvard Public Health |last2=Adams |first2=Ben |date=2024-11-04 |title=It's not too late for Elon Musk to take Memphis's environmental health seriously |url=https://harvardpublichealth.org/environmental-health/xai-memphis-project-owes-city-more-than-promises-on-environment/ |access-date=2025-04-26 |website=Harvard Public Health Magazine |language=en-US}}

The plan to build Colossus in Memphis was kept secret from residents, City Council members, and environmental agencies in Memphis. Many did not find out about the project until the day before, or the day of as they watched the announcement on the local news. Keshaun Pearson, president of Memphis Community Against Pollution stated that there is a historical lack of transparency and communication surrounding environmental issues in Memphis.{{Cite news |last1=Penn |first1=Ivan |last2=Conger |first2=Kate |date=2024-10-31 |title=Why a Memphis Community Is Fighting Elon Musk's Supercomputer |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/31/business/energy-environment/elon-musk-ai-memphis-pollution.html |access-date=2025-04-27 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} Some community members in Memphis have expressed concern about the potential for additional air and water pollution caused by the supercomputer. In a letter to the Shelby County Health Department, the Southern Environmental Law Center stated the emissions from the turbines make the facility "likely the largest industrial emitter of NOx in Memphis". This is due to data supplied by the manufacturer showing that "xAI emits between 1,200 and 2,000 tons of smog-forming nitrogen oxides (NOx)".

At a public Shelby County Commissioner's hearing on April 9, 2025, residents living near the site of Colossus voiced complaints about air quality noting that they have chronic respiratory issues related to the living in a polluted section of Memphis. One woman said she smells "everything but the right thing and the right thing is the clean air". Other residents voiced frustration that Brent Mayo, the senior xAI official responsible for building out xAI's infrastructure, did not show up to the meeting to discuss concerns with the community.{{Cite web |date=2025-03-31 |title=Shelby County Commission passes resolution for public hearing on xAI gas turbine request |url=https://www.localmemphis.com/article/news/health/xai-memphis-gas-turbine-shelby-county-commission/522-23f2ffa2-e5ed-4f36-b1fd-7623ce1ba3be |access-date=2025-04-27 |website=localmemphis.com |language=en-US}}

Keshaun Pearson also stated that "We're getting more and more days a year where it is unhealthy for us to go outside." People living near the site of Colossus have said they were not offered the opportunity for a public review of the plans, nor were they provided with information for how their community could potentially benefit.

The community is concerned about strains to the power grid as well. In November 2024, the Tennessee Valley Authority approved xAI's request for access to more than 100 megawatts of power, enough electricity to power 100,000 homes, to Colossus which is supplied by MLGW.{{Cite news |date=2024-11-07 |title=TVA approves xAI request for electricity supply |url=https://wreg.com/news/local/tva-approves-xai-request-for-electricity-supply/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20241111092112/https://wreg.com/news/local/tva-approves-xai-request-for-electricity-supply/ |archive-date=2024-11-11 |access-date=2025-04-27 |work=WREG.com |language=en-US}} The electric grid in Tennessee, including Memphis, has been strained during previous extreme weather events. In December 2022, MLGW imposed (then rescinded) rolling blackouts during several days of extreme cold that put a strain on the power grid.{{Cite web |title=MLGW to start systemwide rolling blackouts, Strickland declares state of emergency |url=https://dailymemphian.com/article/33088/memphis-mlgw-rolling-blackouts |access-date=2025-04-27 |website=Memphis Local, Sports, Business & Food News {{!}} Daily Memphian |language=en}} In a letter to the TVA, the Southern Environmental Law Center "urged the agency to 'prioritize Memphis families' access to reliable power over the 'secondary purpose' of serving xAI".

In early December 2024, Ted Townsend, both Greater Memphis Chamber President and CEO, detailed how the power of Colossus doubled in its processing capability. When it first went online, “it was using 100,000 Nvidia H100 processing chips.” {{Cite web |last=Strebig |first=Neil |title=Memphis Chamber: Tech giants Nvidia, Dell and Super Micro looking to join xAI in Bluff City |url=https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/money/business/development/2024/12/04/dell-nvidia-super-micro-computer-coming-to-memphis/76771460007/ |access-date=2025-04-27 |website=The Commercial Appeal |language=en-US}} Still, this initial launch demonstrated Colossus to be the largest supercomputer globally. The expansion of this supercomputer has already been discussed and will be the second phase of the project.  It is stated that it will add 320 new jobs. Not only that, but in its expansion, xAI also plans to increase Colossus to 1 million graphic processing units.{{Cite web |title=xAI Memphis Announces Expansion Of Supercomputer with Addition Of Tech Companies In Digital Delta |url=https://memphischamber.com/blog/press-release/xai-memphis-announces-expansion-of-supercomputer-with-addition-of-tech-companies-in-digital-delta/#:~:text=Supercomputer%20to%20grow%20to%201,its%20%E2%80%9CColossus%E2%80%9D%20supercomputer%20facility. |access-date=2025-04-27 |website=Greater Memphis Chamber |language=en-US}} Since the current state of the supercomputer is using gas turbines for power, it is temporarily relying on them alongside Tesla Mega Packs. As part of this prospective expansion, xAI is also looking to add more Mega Packs, which could later allow the center to no longer depend on Memphis’s gas and water grid. Townsend also mentioned how xAI “is [also] expected to act as a data hub for Musk's other companies, including X and SpaceX.”

The expansion continues as of recently, where xAI has purchased a 1 million sq ft site in the Whitehaven area of Memphis. This was announced by the Greater Memphis Chamber in early March 2025. {{Cite news |date=2025-03-07 |title=xAI purchases 1 million-square-foot property in Memphis |url=https://wreg.com/news/local/xai-memphis/xai-purchases-1-million-square-foot-property-in-memphis/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250404192303/https://wreg.com/news/local/xai-memphis/xai-purchases-1-million-square-foot-property-in-memphis/ |archive-date=2025-04-04 |access-date=2025-04-27 |work=WREG.com |language=en-US}} Brent Mayo from xAI states how the addition of this property “ensures [they will] remain at the forefront of AI innovation…in Memphis.” The property was bought for almost $80 million and transferred specifically to CTC Properties. This is an xAI-affiliated company. The Memphis City Council has also approved xAI's wastewater recycling plant expansion. Plans for this expansion were initially revealed by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation when preliminary plans for the facility were filed on September 18 for this project “between xAI, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), and Nucor Steel.” {{Cite web |title=The Commercial Appeal Subscription Offers, Specials, and Discounts |url=https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/money/business/development/2024/10/02/xai-supercomputer-in-memphis-greywater-facility/75482201007/ |access-date=2025-04-27 |website=subscribe.commercialappeal.com}} At the time, xAI representatives detailed its estimated cost to be $78 million and that it would be privately funded. In March 2025, approval was officially granted for this expansion, including “the sale of 13 acres for a wastewater recycling plant near the supercomputer in southwest Memphis” {{Cite web |date=2025-03-19 |title=City council approves xAI expansion for wastewater recycling plant |url=https://www.fox13memphis.com/news/city-council-approves-xai-expansion-for-wastewater-recycling-plant/article_171b2430-04ba-11f0-aa45-8b9dbc79f5f9.html |access-date=2025-04-27 |website=FOX13 Memphis |language=en}} Designed to support the massive supercomputer Colossus, the final cost was revealed to be $80 million for construction. The plant will function by recycling Memphis’s wastewater into gray water for the supercomputer.

With xAI selecting Memphis as the site of Colossus, the companies Nvidia, Dell, and Supermicro reportedly have plans to set up operations in the Memphis market. This will make "the city the 'global epicenter of aritifical intelligence.'"{{Cite web |last=Comment |first=Matthew Gooding |date=2024-12-05 |title=xAI targets one million GPUs for Colossus supercomputer in Memphis |url=https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/xai-elon-musk-memphis-colossus-gpu/ |access-date=2025-04-27 |website=www.datacenterdynamics.com |language=en}}

• Colossus: The Forbin Project

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Category:AI supercomputers

Category:Nvidia IP cores