Alibaba chairman warns of AI data center “bubble”
Alibaba Chairman Joe Tsai mentioned the “B” word today at the HSBC Global Investment Summit in Hong Kong, where he said that the rush from tech companies to build out AI data centers might be outpacing demand for the tech.
“I start to see the beginning of some kind of bubble,” Tsai said, expressing concerns of building data centers and buying their expensive chips without clear customers in mind. “I start to get worried when people are building data centers on spec.”
Tsai is the latest in a growing chorus to signal that seemingly limitless spending on AI might not be such a great idea. No one tell the Big Tech companies like Alphabet, Meta, or Amazon, which are shelling out hundreds of billions in capex this year alone to furnish their AI ambitions. Alibaba itself is spending $52 billion over the next three years on AI development.
Tsai is the latest in a growing chorus to signal that seemingly limitless spending on AI might not be such a great idea. No one tell the Big Tech companies like Alphabet, Meta, or Amazon, which are shelling out hundreds of billions in capex this year alone to furnish their AI ambitions. Alibaba itself is spending $52 billion over the next three years on AI development.