Elon Musk's xAI Colossus 2 is nowhere near 1 gigawatt capacity, satellite imagery suggests ā despite claims, site only has 350 megawatts of cooling capacity
ā” Quick Hits
- Satellite analysis indicates Colossus 2's actual capacity is significantly lower than claimed.
- Cooling infrastructure appears to be a major limiting factor.
- The findings contradict Elon Musk's statements regarding the supercomputer's scale.
xAI Colossus 2: Satellite Imagery Casts Doubt on 1 GW Claim
Recent claims by Elon Musk regarding the scale of xAI's Colossus 2 supercomputer are facing scrutiny following satellite analysis conducted by Epoch AI. The analysis suggests that the supercomputer is not operating at the 1 GW scale as claimed, primarily due to limitations in cooling capacity.
The satellite imagery indicates that the site housing Colossus 2 possesses only around 350 megawatts of cooling capacity. This figure falls far short of the cooling requirements typically associated with a 1 GW supercomputer, raising questions about the accuracy of the initial claims. The discrepancy between the claimed capacity and the observed cooling infrastructure suggests that Colossus 2 is currently operating at a significantly lower performance level than initially projected.
