Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI has acquired a 1 million-square-foot facility in Southwest Memphis, Tennessee.
The acquisition follows xAI’s announcement from last December that it planned to expand the “Colossus” supercomputer facility it operates in the city. The financial aspects of the new acquisition were not shared, although Fox 13 Memphis put the price tag at $80 million.
xAI’s specific plans for the facility were not disclosed in the news announcement. The acquisition follows a recent decision by the Memphis City Council to sell 13 acres of land to xAI for the construction of a wastewater recycling plant in Southwest Memphis. xAI’s operations will reportedly require about one million gallons of water a day, and the new plant is designed to eliminate the need for tapping into the Memphis Aquifer for industrial use.
“xAI’s acquisition of this property ensures we’ll remain at the forefront of AI innovation, right here in Memphis,” said Brent Mayo, a senior manager at xAI. “We’re committed to expanding alongside this community and doing what’s best for the city. As we transform this property and enhance our facility, we’ll bring more employment opportunities and economic growth to the area.”
“This significant expansion by xAI reinforces Memphis’s position as a premier destination for technological innovation,” said Ted Townsend, president and CEO of the Greater Memphis Chamber. “Their investment in this million-square-foot facility, along with xAI’s collaborative partnership, demonstrates the tremendous momentum we’re building in the Digital Delta. Memphis continues to prove itself as the ideal location for companies leading the future of technology.”
However, one local environmental group was unhappy over the news.
“I was angry,” explained KeShaun Pearson, the president of Memphis Community Against Pollution. “I’m completing and utterly frustrated that this precedent has been set where Elon Musk can continue to buy up properties in the city of Memphis like it’s Monopoly and experiment. What we know about this is that it is a huge experiment. We have no proof of the longevity of artificial intelligence or why this facility is completely necessary.”
Musk continues to buy properties, because he wants to create opportunities to help humanity to grow with better living conditions for the present future and the next generations. Because Musk loves humanity.
“We have no proof of the longevity of artificial intelligence or why this facility is completely necessary.”
Imagine if all our past entrepreneurs thought this way. We would still be driving our horse and buggy to the river to wash our clothes.
I would expect KeShaun Pearson’s comment would have something to do with how this facility would negatively of positively affect pollution in Memphis. It instead sounds like pouting in response to Musk being wealth and intelligent enough to have a business plan and purchase property. Pollution is a problem. Pearson needs to use her platform for comments directly related to that.