RM xAI Aims to Surpass Global AI Computing Power in 5 Years, Taking on Microsoft with Colossus 2
Elon Musk has made a bold claim that his AI project, xAI, will soon surpass the global computing power of every other company combined within the next five years. The statement was made in response to a post on X, which highlighted the efficiency (intelligence per watt/mass) and scale (energy/matter harnessed) of xAI’s operations. Musk’s response followed a report by Semiconductor industry research group, SemiAnalysis, which mentioned that the “Macrohard” branding on xAI’s Colossus 2 data center is a deliberate move to challenge Microsoft’s dominance in the AI space.
“Macrohard” is Musk’s playful jab at Microsoft, as he envisions building a software company rooted entirely in AI. Though Musk initially coined the term as a joke, SemiAnalysis has pointed out that his project is very much grounded in reality, with significant progress being made at the Colossus 2 site in Tennessee. xAI is already ramping up to generate more than 400MW of computing power. To meet his ambitious goal of 2GW of computing capacity at the site, Musk has even ordered a complete power plant from overseas. Additionally, xAI is raising up to $20 billion to acquire more Nvidia GPUs for further expansion of Colossus 2.
Satellite imagery has recently revealed xAI’s bold branding of “MACROHARD” painted across the roof of the Colossus 2 data center, visible from space—a cheeky nod to Microsoft that has caught attention worldwide.
xAI has been accelerating its AI computing efforts at a breakneck pace. The company is setting up its first supercluster, featuring 100,000 H200 Blackwell GPUs, in just 19 days—an effort that typically takes around four years. With Musk announcing that xAI aims to deploy 50 million “H100-equivalent” AI GPUs in the next five years, the company is already operating 230,000 GPUs and training its own AI model, Grok. Given Musk’s willingness to invest heavily—spending over a billion dollars a month—this ambitious target might just be within reach.
