An energy startup that aims to clean up large-scale electricity use with artificial intelligence is getting a multimillion-dollar boost from investors, including AI Top industry leaders.
Exowatt, a startup developing modules that store energy as heat and generate electricity for AI data centers, counts OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz among its investors. has been — as much as $20 million, the Wall Street Journal reported.
A solar solution for AI’s energy consumption
Exowatt produces shipping container-sized modules equipped with solar lenses that convert the sun’s energy into heat, which can heat inexpensive materials, and can be stored for up to 24 hours. The modules then generate electricity by transferring the stored heat through an engine. The company aims to benefit from cost reductions by storing energy as heat.
“You don’t have to go back to fossil fuels to solve the data center’s energy problem… it’s productive,” Exowatt chief executive Hanan Parvezian told the Journal.
The company is reportedly focused on using US-made components for its modules to move away from Chinese-made parts. Eligible for subsidies rich under the Inflationary Reduction Act.. Exowatt reportedly wants to offer electricity for as little as one cent per kilowatt hour minus subsidies, and hopes to deliver its modules later this year.
Tech and climate leaders alike have noted how generative AI consumes massive, enormous amounts of energy — and that the industry need to be reckoned with Its huge power consumption.
“We won’t be able to continue the development of AI without addressing power,” said Amy Badani, the semiconductor firm’s chief marketing officer. Arm, said at Fortune’s Brainstorm AI conference this month. “ChatGPT requires 15 times more energy than traditional web search.”
According to Badani, 2% of global electricity consumption comes from data centers where AI models are trained. He warned that the technology could eventually. Make a quarter of the power consumption By 2030 in the US
Nine out of ten US utility companies reported. Data centers as their top customer growth area In first-quarter earnings, Reuters reported.
Credit : qz.com
