AI Growth Strains Power, Spurs Massive Investment

Rapid AI growth is driving a surge in electricity demand that analysts say could require tens of gigawatts annually and large new power builds. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said the main bottleneck is power—not chips—because companies can have processors in inventory but lack “warm shells” near sufficient electricity, a point he made alongside OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Tech firms and cloud providers are accelerating massive infrastructure commitments—reports cite roughly $1.4 trillion in compute-related investment over several years—and are exploring grid upgrades, small modular nuclear reactors and other solutions; OpenAI has urged the U.S. to dramatically scale annual power generation. Those infrastructure pushes are already contributing to higher consumer energy bills and factor into strategic competition with countries such as China that invested heavily in hydropower and nuclear. Separately, Microsoft AI chief Mustafa Suleyman said researchers should stop pursuing whether current AI models are conscious or can suffer, arguing they only simulate experience and do not feel.