Zhangbei, Hebei, China
Alibaba Zhangbei is an operational AI data center in Zhangbei, Hebei, China, with AI chips owned by Alibaba and used by Alibaba (likely). It hosts an estimated 133k H100-equivalent chips — supported by 169 MW of IT power — at a capital cost of $6.4 B. The timeline of IT power and compute capacity is based on satellite imagery, our cooling equipment power model, and chip efficiency. Alibaba Zhangbei is part of China’s “Eastern Data Western Compute” (东数西算) project, launched in 2021, which favors Zhangbei county for its abundant wind and solar power.
Satellite imagery
CURRENT COMPUTE
133k H100-eq
2.63e20 8-bit OP/s
CURRENT IT POWER
169 MW
PROJECTED IT POWER
169 MW
CURRENT COST
$6.4 B
PROJECTED COST
$6.4 B
New chiller configuration starts getting installed on Building 1-3.
Large substation is visibly connected to transmission lines. New chillers look fully installed on Building 1-3. Since power and cooling is apparently in place, we expect Building 1-3 are operational. Chillers are almost installed on Building 4-6, with construction equipment still around the building.
Chillers look fully installed on Building 4-6. Some chillers on Building 4 and 5 appear to have snow in the fan holes, suggesting they are not operating and other chillers are operating (since warm air would melt the snow). There is still a bit of construction equipment around Building 6 so it may not be quite operational.
Expect Building 4-6 have finished upgrading with new chillers.