Why big tech companies are turning to nuclear pow, Ballygarvan

he OpenAI app icon is displayed alongside other AI apps on a smartphone.

Jonathan Raa | Nurphoto via Getty Images

Tech giants are turning to nuclear power to power the energy-intensive data centers needed to train and run the massive artificial intelligence models behind today’s generative AI applications.

microsoft and Google are among companies signing deals to buy nuclear power from certain suppliers in the United States to bring additional power capacity online for their data centers.

This week, Google said it would buy power from Kairos Power, a developer of small modular reactors, to help “deliver on AI progress.”

“The grid needs these kinds of clean, reliable sources of energy that can support the development of these technologies,” Michael Terrell, Google’s senior director of energy and climate, said on a call with reporters Monday.

“We believe that nuclear energy can play an important role in helping to meet our demand and help meet it in a clean way, in a way that works 24 hours a day.”

Google said its first Kairos Power nuclear reactor would be operational by 2030, with more reactors coming online by 2035.