Microsoft Unveils Plan to Triple Data Center Capacity Amid AI Computing Power Shortage

Microsoft is rapidly expanding its data center capacity to address the escalating shortage of computing power for AI and cloud computing. According to reports, the company plans to increase its global data center capacity from approximately 12 GW to over 38 GW by 2032.

This expansion includes both owned and leased facilities, but excludes computing power rented from 'new cloud' providers such as CoreWeave. Currently, only about 2 GW of Microsoft's data center capacity is dedicated to AI-specific chips; by 2032, this figure is expected to rise to approximately one-third of the total capacity.

The shortage of computing power has been a significant bottleneck in Microsoft's AI infrastructure expansion, forcing the company to restrict new cloud service subscriptions in key regions. To alleviate this pressure, Microsoft is accelerating efforts to bring online data center capacity at an unprecedented pace and improve the utilization efficiency of existing hardware.