Microsoft, G42 to Set Up $1B Geothermal Data Center in Kenya
Kenya, the world's eighth-largest producer of geothermal energy, plans to double its overall geothermal power output by 2030.
UAE-based artificial intelligence firm G42 is partnering with Microsoft to invest $1 billion in a new data center in Kenya. This project is part of a larger package of digital investments in East Africa.[1]
Read More: Microsoft Pumps $1.5 Billion into UAE’s G42
The geothermal energy-powered data center campus, which will be in Olkaria, Kenya, will run Microsoft's Azure through a new cloud region for East Africa. The first phase of the project will have a capacity of 100 megawatts and is expected to be operational within two years.
This new cloud region aims to provide secure, high-speed cloud and AI services, accelerating cloud adoption and digital transformation for businesses, customers, and partners across Kenya and East Africa.
The initiative includes four additional pillars to be developed with local partners, including local-language AI model development and research and the establishment of an East Africa Innovation Lab coupled with broad AI digital skills training.
It will also see collaboration with the Kenyan government to support safe and secure cloud services across East Africa.
In March, G42 signed an agreement with Kenya’s EcoCloud to develop a mega data center powered by geothermal energy.
Kenya, the world's eighth-largest producer of geothermal energy, plans to double its overall geothermal power output by 2030.