I used the world’s largest computer cluster to make a picture of Donald Trump eating ramen. Good thing engineers worked day and night on this.
But seriously, xAI’s Colossus computing cluster is an incredible sight. With 100,000 GPU’s, the cluster is 2-4x larger than anything else on earth.
A computing cluster of this size should take years to stand up. Incredibly, the xAI team built the whole thing in just 122 days.
How Elon and xAI pulled this off can teach us a lot about how to solve big problems.
Go Big or Go Home
How was Elon able to secure 100,000 NVIDIA GPU’s when the demand for these chips is so intense?
No one knows for sure, but the scale of this project may have been a key factor. When you place a massive order from a supplier, you go to the front of the line.
In a sense, building a huge cluster is easier than building a small one.
Making a massive bet without regards to the odds seems to be Elon’s approach to life. As a young man playing poker with Max Levchin, he lost repeatedly. But he doubled down over and over until he won.
That may not be an ideal poker strategy. But as an approach to life, it seems to be working for him!
“How Can I Do It?”
Most of us see an obstacle and say, “That means I can’t do it.” Elon sees an obstacle and asks himself, “How can I do it?”
Power is a huge limiting factor for data centers. They need a ton of it, and with everyone building AI clusters, power is running short.
Elon could’ve waited for years to secure a steady supply and get a million permits. But instead, he and his team came up with a creative solution: portable, methane powered gas turbines.
These turbines use methane, a fossil fuel byproduct. Because they’re portable, they don’t need many permits.
Despite concerns about pollution, portable methane gas turbines of this type appear to be very clean. Moreover, I expect that these turbines are a temporary solution until xAI finds a permanent power source.
Wrap-Up
The problems we face in our businesses are nowhere near as hard as those Elon and xAI faced when they built Colossus. If they can pull that off, what can we do?
The key is to make an audacious goal. Then, instead of thinking of reasons why we can’t succeed, let’s start thinking of some reasons why we can!
Have a great weekend, everyone!
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