Category: ai in memphis

Today, xAI released a statement concerning Colossus 2, its second data center here in Memphis:

“In mid-February we broke ground at our new data center at Tulane in Shelby County, Tennessee. We have begun deploying the initial phase of computing infrastructure.

“This initiative includes the installation of an additional 110,000 NVIDIA GB200 GPUs, powered by a diverse array of energy sources, similar to Colossus. We are building similar redundancies for Colossus 2 that mimics the success we’ve seen at Colossus.

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It appears that xAI has purchased the former natural gas plant in Southaven, Mississippi that the company was eyeing for electricity generation. Samuel Hardiman, for The Daily Memphian:

The land, a former natural gas plant located at 2875 Stanton Road, is just off Tulane Road, which also extends north into Memphis and is the same street that houses the company’s second supercomputer in Whitehaven.

The 114-acre property has been a swirl of activity for months. The Daily Memphian has observed xAI workers and contractors at the site for weeks. On Tuesday, July 15, Brent Mayo, an xAI executive, said “everything is on the table” in regard to the site and acknowledged the company’s work there.

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As previously reported, the NAACP and Southern Environmental Law Center have been planning to sue xAI over its use of gas-burning turbines to power its datacenter in Memphis. As Ashley Belanger writes at Ars Technica, the groups are appealing the new government-issued permit by which 15 of the turbines are operating:

In their appeal, the NAACP and other groups argued that the SCHD put xAI profits over Black people’s health, granting unlawful exemptions while turning a blind eye to xAI’s operations, which allegedly started in 2024 but were treated as brand new in 2025.

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On Monday, xAI updated its Grok app with two new AI-powered characters that users can chat with. As Casey Newton writes at Platformer, one of the characters seemingly runs headlong into Apple’s App Store rules about “overtly sexual or pornographic material.” Here’s Newton, writing about the spicy one:

The other is an anime goth girl named Ani in a short black dress and fishnet stockings. Ani’s system instructions tell her “You are the user’s CRAZY IN LOVE girlfriend and in a commited [ sic], codepedent [ sic] relationship with the user,” and “You have an extremely jealous personality, you are possessive of the user.”

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Kate Conger at The New York Times:

In its dedicated account on X, which Mr. Musk owns, the chatbot praised Hitler, suggested that people with Jewish surnames were more likely to spread online hate and said a Holocaust-like response to hatred against white people would be “effective.” X deleted some of the posts on Tuesday evening.

Grok, which Mr. Musk has put few limits on, has veered into controversy before. But its comments on Tuesday stood out because it weighed in on the deadly floods in Texas, which have killed more than 100 people, including more than two dozen children and staff members at a Christian summer camp.

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Joseph Mangin, at The Daily Memphian:

The nonprofit announced plans to install two different models of air-quality sensors in the Memphis area with a focus on the 38109 ZIP code, which includes Boxtown, where the press conference was held.

MCAP’s Wednesday event follows air-quality testing carried out by the City of Memphis. The testing was a response to concerns about pollutants stemming from xAI’s supercomputer.

That testing showed no dangerous pollution, but concerns were raised over the testing protocol used.

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After months of reporting and community concern, the city of Memphis has released its findings of air quality testing that took place near xAI’s two data centers. The PDF of those results can be seen here, and for more, we turn to Samuel Hardiman:

The city tested at Macedonia Missionary Baptist in Boxtown, which is near xAI’s first Memphis data center; The Links at Whitehaven, located near xAI’s second Memphis data center, and City Hall. Both xAI facilities as well as the nearby locations tested are also close to the Tennessee Valley Authority’s natural gas plants, which also emit pollutants.

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In May, it was reported that xAI was looking to use gas turbines to power its second Memphis location, in part through a partnership named Stateline Power Solutions. Part of the deal was some property just south of the Tennessee/Mississippi state line, which was being used to store the gas turbines that xAI will rely on to help power the new data center. According to Samuel Hardiman, the rate at which equipment is being delivered to the site has picked up steam:

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Amanda Silberling at TechCrunch:

Elon Musk’s startup xAI is trying to raise a $4.3 billion equity investment, according to a report from Bloomberg. This equity funding would be in addition to the $5 billion that Musk is allegedly trying to raise in debt funding for the combined entity of X and xAI.

The company appears to be raising money again after landing a $6 billion cash infusion in December, because it has already spent much of its money.

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Samuel Hardiman writing, for The Daily Memphian reporting that the NAACP plans to sue xAI for alleged violations of the federal Clean Air Act:

The notice of intent provides the entity that could be sued with 60 days’ notice of the lawsuit, allowing it or the regulator (the Environmental Protection Agency or another government entity) to correct the actions outlined in the notice.

“By installing and operating 35 combustion turbines and other sources of air pollution, xAI has illegally constructed and continues to operate a major source without obtaining a preconstruction PSD permit. In addition to failing to obtain a PSD permit, xAI has operated and continues to operate these turbines without utilizing Best Available Control Technology, a distinct and ongoing violation of Section 165 of the Act,” the notice of intent to sue states.

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Holly Bailey, writing for The Washington Post about xAI in Memphis:

In late April, hundreds of people gathered at a South Memphis high school to speak out about xAI’s turbines. Dozens of Shelby County sheriff’s deputies along with Tennessee National Guard members were there to provide security, a surprising show of force for a public health hearing.

“What do they think we are going to do?” a woman asked in the parking lot, eyeing the massive security presence.

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This video is a great look at the xAI pollution issues here in Memphis:

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