Latest / Elon Musk Podcast / OpenAI's Sam Altman invests in power startup for AI datacenters
Transcript
- 0:00Hey everybody checking back to the Elon.
- 0:02Musk. Podcast This is a show where we
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- 0:43for Elon Musk podcast. There's a new company called
- 0:47Exawatt. They're a forward thinking
- 0:50renewable energy company and they're recently launched an
- 0:54energy system tailored for powering large scale data
- 0:58centers, A company by a substantial $20 million seed
- 1:02investment. The financial backing includes
- 1:05contributions from Sam Altman of Open AI, the CEO and the
- 1:12company's flagship product. The Exawatt P3 introduces a
- 1:16novel energy solution by combining a heat collector, A
- 1:20heat. Battery.
- 1:21And a heat engine. The Tri component system
- 1:24facilitates the consistent supply of power and heat by
- 1:27storing solar energy in a thermal battery, a method that
- 1:32allows energy retention for up to 24 hours.
- 1:36Now, these data centers, which are powering things like open
- 1:39AI, need a ton of power, and that is why Sam Altman is one of
- 1:46the financial backers, because they also need a lot of money to
- 1:50get this startup off the ground, and Sam is trying to tap into
- 1:54that power. For the power structure of Open
- 2:00AI, Exawatt scales and technology.
- 2:03Over time, the company projects that it could provide
- 2:06electricity at cost potential as low as .01 cents per kWh.
- 2:12Such pricing would position Exawatt as a more affordable
- 2:16position option than both fossil fuels and other renewable
- 2:20resources, potentially altering the competitive landscape of
- 2:23energy sources altogether. Now, the shift to storing heat
- 2:27rather than electricity sets Exawatt apart in the renewable
- 2:31energy sector. It offers an economical
- 2:34alternative to traditional electrochemical batteries,
- 2:37sidestepping the reliance on rare earth minerals as well and
- 2:41enabling around the clock energy dispatch regardless of external
- 2:45conditions. Now the CEO and Co founder of
- 2:48Exawatt showed that there's a shift and cost effective
- 2:52deployment capability of the system.
- 2:54He said Exawatt's modular system can be deployed rapidly and cost
- 2:59effectively and it's available right now.
- 3:02This year, they are ready to tackle immediate in escalating
- 3:06energy demands from open AI and other data centers around the
- 3:10country, especially those driven by the tech center.
- 3:14Now the need for such innovative energy solution is showing that
- 3:18there's a rapid expansion of AI tech with demand increasingly
- 3:21significant amounts of power. Jack Abraham, Atomic CEO and Co
- 3:26founder of Exawatt stressed this point, stating that exponential
- 3:30growth rate of AI models, which double S every three months
- 3:34significantly boosts the power requirements of these data
- 3:37centers. And the participation of Sam
- 3:39Altman's in this funding round is particularly significant
- 3:43given his leadership role in Open AI, one of the lead
- 3:46entities in the AI field. And Altman's investment is seen
- 3:50not just as financial backing, but as a strategic alignment
- 3:53with Exawatt's mission to power the next generation of AI
- 3:57infrastructure substantially. Now Exawatt is the new leader in
- 4:04this type of technology, Katherine Boyle general Partner
- 4:08Ed Anderson Horowitz said. By committing to full US
- 4:11manufacturing with domestically sourced components, this is
- 4:16important. Domestically sourced components,
- 4:18they want everything to be made in the United States.
- 4:22Exawatt will significantly strengthen our national
- 4:25infrastructure in resilience. As we all saw during the
- 4:29pandemic, it was a difficult time to get parts.
- 4:32It was a difficult time to get basically anything that was
- 4:36imported from another country. So the resilience on
- 4:40domestically sourced components is fundamental in keeping the
- 4:45lights on for this power company now when it.
- 4:49Reported. Demand backlog exceeded 500
- 4:53megawatts for U.S. data centers. Exawatt is positioned to start
- 4:56rolling out of systems later this year, aiming to capture a
- 5:00substantial portion of the market very swiftly, and the
- 5:03founders of Exawatt had on Provision and Jack Abraham bring
- 5:10a mix of expertise and entrepreneurial experience from
- 5:13the energy and technology sectors.
- 5:15The backgrounds are instrumental in shaping the company's
- 5:17strategic direction going forward and operational
- 5:20capabilities. Abraham's role in founding and
- 5:22developing Atomic into a prominent venture studio
- 5:26underlines the innovative nature of Exawatt.
- 5:29His history of identifying and nurturing companies that address
- 5:32major global issues aligns with the foundational goals of
- 5:36Exawatt. Now, the launch strategy focuses
- 5:38on integrating advanced solar tech with cost effective thermal
- 5:42storage to offer a reliable energy source for data centers.
- 5:47It not only promotes sustainability, but it also
- 5:49aligns with global energy conservation goals.
- 5:53And to align with federal initiatives and reduce
- 5:55dependency on international supply chains, particularly
- 5:58those from China. Exawatt, of course, prioritizes
- 6:02the use of US manufacturing components.
- 6:06This strategy enhances the company's ability to subsidize
- 6:11under recent climate legislation, while also
- 6:13bolstering national energy independence.
- 6:16The growing consumption of energy by the AI sector has a
- 6:20critical challenge right now that Exawatt is addressing, and
- 6:23the company's technology and strategic investor support,
- 6:26including Sam Altman, signify a proactive approach to
- 6:30substantial and economically viable energy solutions.
- 6:35Altman's involvement brings additional credibility and
- 6:37visibility. XO Watt, maybe they can get some
- 6:40big name investors there, linking its technological
- 6:43innovations directly with the needs of the AI industry, which
- 6:46is under increasing pressure to mitigate its environmental
- 6:49impact. Now, Exawatt's modular and
- 6:51scalable technology is designed to adapt seamlessly to both
- 6:55small and also large scale energy needs, providing A
- 6:58versatile solution for the diverse requirements of modern
- 7:02data centers and industrial facilities.
- 7:05Hey, thank you so much for listening today.
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