Anthropic moves into Musk’s Memphis data center

Artificial intelligence firm Anthropic has finalized an agreement with SpaceX, the parent company of xAI, to fully occupy the computing capacity at the Colossus 1 data center in Memphis, Tennessee. This move comes as the xAI-owned facility, founded by Elon Musk, has been a focal point of environmental controversy since it began operations in 2024. Colossus 1 has faced a congressional probe and multiple lawsuits alleging that xAI bypassed Clean Air Act regulations by operating more than 30 gas turbines for nearly a year without pollution controls or proper permits. Environmental organizations assert these actions are in direct violation of federal law. Additionally, xAI has drawn recent criticism for postponing construction of a water reuse facility, compelling the data center to continue using Memphis' drinking water for cooling its supercomputing chips, contrary to prior commitments. Anthropic's deal to use the entire compute capacity of Colossus 1 for its AI chatbot, Claude, was publicly announced on Wednesday, highlighting the ongoing expansion of AI infrastructure despite associated environmental and regulatory challenges.