While OpenAI races to build AI data centers, Nadella reminds us that Microsoft already has them

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced the deployment of the company’s first massive AI system—referred to as an AI “factory” by Nvidia—at Microsoft Azure’s global data centers. These systems consist of clusters with over 4,600 Nvidia GB300 rack computers equipped with the new Blackwell Ultra GPU chips, connected via Nvidia’s high-speed InfiniBand networking technology. Microsoft plans to deploy hundreds of thousands of these Blackwell Ultra GPUs worldwide, enabling the company to run advanced AI workloads, including those from its partner OpenAI. This announcement comes shortly after OpenAI secured significant data center deals and committed approximately $1 trillion in 2025 to build its own infrastructure. Microsoft emphasized that, unlike OpenAI’s ongoing build-out, it already operates extensive data centers in 34 countries, positioning itself as uniquely capable of supporting frontier AI demands today. The new AI systems are designed to handle next-generation AI models with hundreds of trillions of parameters. Further details on Microsoft’s AI infrastructure expansion are