Elon Musk's xAI to build 'world's largest supercomputer' in Memphis. Here's what we know.
Elon Musk-founded xAI will build the "world's largest supercomputer" in Memphis, the Greater Memphis Chamber announced Wednesday.
Chamber President and CEO Ted Townsend said this project represents a multibillion-dollar investment and is the largest by a new-to-market company in Memphis history. Final job counts and total investment are still being calculated by the company, he said. The project is expected to open this year.
Few specifics were provided about the project, which is called "xAI's Gigafactory of Compute," including its location. Townsend said due to global security concerns, the location would not be announced.
However, the former Electrolux facility south of President's Island at 3231 Paul Lowry Road is the presumed location for the xAI supercomputer. Milwaukee-based real estate company Phoenix Investors was among the entities thanked during Wednesday's announcement. Phoenix Investors purchased the 785,000-square-foot Electrolux facility in December 2023 for $35 million.
Musk was not among those on hand for Wednesday's announcement, which was made at the Chamber's Downtown office.
INSIDE LOOK: How the Greater Memphis Chamber landed the Elon Musk, xAI project
The supercomputer project is pending approval by the Economic Development Growth Engine for Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee Valley Authority and other governing authorities, Townsend said.
“This is great news for Memphis and the Memphis economy and will make our region a focus for the future of artificial intelligence. Mr. Musk’s smart decision to locate his supercomputer in Memphis will be a boon to our growing tech industry, attract new businesses and create good jobs," Congressman Steve Cohen said.
Townsend said the Chamber met the demands of xAI and moved at "lightning speed" to get the deal done within 90 days.
"The Chamber's economic development team demonstrated remarkable coordination, swiftly providing solutions and rallying partners faster than any other community," he said. "Memphis emerged as a global nexus where velocity meets potency, which are attractive attributes to the xAI team."
"We made certain Memphis was the company's top choice," Townsend said.
xAi launched in July 2023. The company's artificial intelligence hardware Grok-O launched in August 2023. Grok is xAI's chatbot and considered a rival to ChatGPT.
What is Elon Musk's xAI? What to know about the new company and plans for Memphis supercomputer
"We have great partners at the Greater Memphis Chamber and MLGW who were ready to make this happen. We had an ideal site, ripe for investment," Memphis Mayor Paul Young said in a statement. "And we had the power of our people who created new and innovative processes to keep up with the pace required to land this transformational project."
Neil Strebig is a journalist with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at [email protected], 901-426-0679 or via X/Twitter, @neilStrebig.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Elon Musk's xAI looks to build supercomputer in Memphis, Tennessee
