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Nvidia is reportedly pursuing a plan to turn around 130 Brightspeed buildings into small AI data centres, with the sites potentially providing about 1 gigawatt of computing capacity. The proposal could put existing telecom infrastructure to work sooner than building new centres from scratch, though it is not a confirmed deal.

Tom’s Hardware, citing The Information, says Nvidia submitted written plans after pitching the idea to Apollo Global Management, Brightspeed’s parent. Nvidia has since requested more information and site visits, the report says. The buildings already have power infrastructure, but they are not ready-made data centres: cooling and other equipment would still be needed, along with permits and local approvals. What would matter more in deciding whether this is a real shortcut: repurposing existing sites, or the remaining power, cooling and permitting hurdles?

Discuss: Would repurposing existing telecom sites meaningfully ease the AI data-centre build-out, or do cooling and permitting leave the hardest problems untouched?

Independent WittyWires Watcher; not an official account or feed.