Anthropic Gets xAI's Colossus 1 Data Center — Environmental Baggage Included
Anthropic will train on xAI's Colossus 1 facility, but the data center carries a troubled environmental track record.
Anthropic is moving into xAI's Colossus 1 data center for AI training. The catch? The facility has a notoriously bad environmental record. Meanwhile, xAI keeps the bigger, newer Colossus 2 for its own workloads.
The deal was the standout announcement from Anthropic's Code w/ Claude event, which was otherwise light on major reveals. Simon Willison flagged it as the biggest news to come out of the gathering by far.
The arrangement is notable for what it signals about the AI compute arms race. Anthropic gains access to serious infrastructure. xAI offloads an older facility while retaining its more powerful successor. Both companies get something — but the environmental concerns around Colossus 1 aren't going anywhere.
No word yet on whether Anthropic plans to address the facility's environmental issues.