Elon Musk unveils Colossus: The world's most powerful supercomputer powered by Nvidia, set to revolutionize Artificial Intelligence in just 120 days

Meet Colossus, the supercomputer developed in record time of 120 days by Elon Musk, which promises to transform Artificial Intelligence with Nvidia technology

Visionary Elon Musk has once again surprised the world with the creation of one of the most ambitious projects of our time. In early September 2024, Musk announced that his artificial intelligence company, xAI, had completed construction of the Colossus supercomputer, now considered the most powerful in the world. Equipped with the tech Colossus was developed in a record time of just 122 days. Located in Memphis, Tennessee, xAI’s data center houses 100.000 Nvidia Hopper H100 processors, outperforming any other AI computing cluster in existence.

The monumental feat has implications for artificial intelligence. In an announcement made via Twitter, Elon Musk wrote: “From start to finish, it took 122 days. Colossus is the world’s most powerful AI training system. What’s more, it will double in size to 200.000 H200 processors in a few months."

This expansion is expected to occur with the acquisition of 50.000 H200 chips from Nvidia, a series even more powerful and almost twice as efficient as its predecessor. This will position Colossus even further ahead in the global race for AI supremacy.

The role of Colossus in the development of AI

Colossus was built with a clear purpose: to train the third generation of xAI’s AI model, Grok-3. Grok is already a household name in the tech ecosystem, especially among subscribers to the social media platform. X (formerly Twitter), controlled by Musk.

The second version of the model, Grok-2, was recently released and, although limited to around 15.000 H100 GPUs, it is already considered one of the most capable language models on the market, according to chatbot performance rankings.

The promise for Grok-3 is even more ambitious.”We expect to launch Grok-3 by December, and it should be the most powerful AI in the world at that point.“, Musk said in an interview with podcaster Jordan Peterson.

Grok-3 is expected to outperform all available artificial intelligence models, including those from OpenAI, a company that Elon Musk helped co-found in 2015, but from which he distanced himself after disagreements with current CEO Sam Altman.

Elon Musk still sees Grok as a key part of his long-term strategy for Tesla. Experts speculate that the model could eventually be integrated into the Optimus humanoid robot that Tesla is developing. If this vision comes to fruition, Musk believes that the project could generate up to $1 trillion in annual profits for Tesla, further cementing its position at the top of the technology market.

The race for Nvidia chips – Elon Musk has the upper hand

Colossus isn’t just an impressive supercomputer; it also represents a strategic move in the intense global race for AI hardware. Companies like Microsoft, Google and Amazon are in a fierce competition to acquire Nvidia’s Hopper series of chips, which have proven to be critical to advancing AI.

However, Elon Musk has managed to secure a prominent position by promising to spend between $3 billion and $4 billion this year on Nvidia hardware for Tesla alone.

xAI, for its part, had a head start by tapping into Tesla's chip inventory. This collaboration between Musk's two companies allowed xAI to speed up construction of the Colossus and get it up and running ahead of its competitors.

Additionally, xAI raised $6 billion in a Series B funding round in May, with backing from heavyweight investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, and Fidelity. This capital is essential to continue expanding Colossus’ infrastructure and capabilities.

Impact of the Colossus supercomputer

While Colossus plays a crucial role in the global technology landscape, its installation in Memphis has also raised local concerns.

The data center was built in record time, but the rush has left officials and residents concerned about the impact on the city’s infrastructure. The supercomputer requires a huge amount of resources, including up to 1 million gallons of water per day to cool its servers and consumes up to 150 megawatts of power, which could put a strain on the city’s power and utility systems.

Despite the challenges, Musk remains focused on his vision of accelerating technological development on all fronts. In a recent interview with podcaster Lex Fridman, Musk discussed his five-step management approach to accelerating any process: “Anything can be accelerated. No matter how fast you think something can be done, it can be done even faster.. "

This mindset has been a hallmark of Elon Musk throughout his career, and with Colossus, he once again demonstrates his ability to push the boundaries of what's possible in the tech industry.