According to a new report from the International Energy Agency, the world will spend $580 billion on data centers this year — $40 billion more than will be spent finding new oil supplies.
Those numbers help to illustrate some big shifts in the global economy, and comparing data centers and oil seems particularly apt given concerns about how generative AI might accelerate climate change.
Kirsten Korosec, Rebecca Bellan, and I discussed the report’s findings on the latest episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast.
There’s no question that these new data centers are going to be hungry for power, and that they could place even more stress on already taxed electrical grids. But Kirsten pointed to a potential upside, with solar poised to power many of these new projects, which could also create new opportunities for startups pursuing innovative appro
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