Elon Musk's xAI will invest over $20 billion to expand a Mississippi data center, marking a historic investment for the state.
xAI, the AI venture founded by Elon Musk, plans to invest more than $20 billion to enhance a data center in Mississippi, a move described as the largest private investment in the state's history by Governor Tate Reeves.
Join me as we announce a record-breaking $20 billion investment in our state. Mississippi has momentum and THIS is our time!
— Governor Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) January 8, 2026
This investment comes amid a rising demand for data center capacity driven by the AI surge, which has strained energy systems in developed countries.
On December 30, Musk revealed the acquisition of a data center named MACROHARDRR, which appears to be a playful nod to Microsoft, given its contrasting name. The billionaire indicated that this facility would boost xAI's capacity to 2 gigawatts.
Located in Southaven, near a recently acquired power plant, operations at the new facility are set to start as soon as February 2026, according to Governor Reeves.
Previously, in September 2024, xAI launched the Colossus AI training cluster in Memphis, Tennessee, featuring 100,000 Nvidia H100 GPUs, which at the time was touted as the largest globally. However, this project faced criticism from environmentalists for its reliance on gas turbines.
Additionally, in January 2025, President Donald Trump announced a $500 billion initiative for AI infrastructure, with initial investments from the Stargate joint venture, including OpenAI, Softbank, and Oracle, projected at $100 billion. There are concerns regarding the feasibility of attracting the promised capital.
Moreover, the first Stargate data center complex, boasting a capacity of 1.2 gigawatts, is anticipated to be operational by mid-2026, designed to house up to 400,000 advanced AI chips from Nvidia.
