Alibaba Plans 5-10 Trillion Parameter AI Model and 20-Gigawatt Cloud Buildout

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said the company must earn permission from local communities to build its data centers, as opposition to the AI infrastructure boom grows across the United States. In March, Microsoft announced it was ending the use of non-disclosure agreements with towns and terminating existing ones, part of what the company calls its Community-First AI Infrastructure Plan unveiled in January. That plan includes Microsoft paying to ensure electricity rates in data-center areas don't rise, minimizing and replenishing more water than the company uses, hiring local workers, not asking communities to reduce taxes on data centers, and investing in AI training. Nadella pointed to Quincy, Washington, where Microsoft built its first company-owned data center in 2006, noting the town's poverty rate fell from 29.4% to 13.1% between 2012 and 2023, tax rates for residents declined, and the improved tax base helped pay for a new hospital and other municipal facilities. An increasing number of states have introduced legislation to halt or ban data center construction, with New York issuing a statewide one-year moratorium and Texas blocking new projects until the Electric Reliability Council of Texas completes an audit of their impact on the power grid and water resources.