#data-center-infrastructure

#data-center-infrastructure

One afternoon in June 2024, I stood up against the fence of a sprawling industrial facility a few miles outside of Corsicana, Texas. Over a metal gate, I watched a bright yellow excavator claw at the dirt and flatbed trucks shuttle to and fro. A hangar-like structure with a gleaming white roof stretched hundreds of meters along the opposite perimeter. The company that owned the plot, Riot Platforms, was busily constructing the world's largest bitcoin mine.

Nvidia announced Monday that it plans to invest $100 billion in OpenAI in a deal that would give the ChatGPT maker a major leg up in the AI race - access to 10 gigawatts worth of the high-powered GPUs it needs to satisfy its mushrooming growth strategy. What the deal can't guarantee - and what neither company mentioned - is how OpenAI will access the enormous amount of electricity needed to fire up those chips.

( BroadcomNASDAQ:AVGO) has been a standout performer, soaring 120% from its April lows and delivering an astonishing 500% return over the past three years. This meteoric rise is fueled by Broadcom's strategic pivot into artificial intelligence (AI), particularly in data centers, where its custom AI chips and networking solutions are in high demand. The company reportedly ( controls around 70% of the custom AI chip market , serving hyperscale clients like major tech giants Google and Meta PlatformsNASDAQ:META) building AI infrastructure.