Rare bees sting Zuckerberg’s plan to get ahead of his AI competitors

Mark Zuckerberg’s plans to build an AI data center powered by nuclear energy have been disrupted by a rare species of bee.

Meta, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, among others, are betting big on AI and investing billions of dollars in nuclear power projects to meet future energy demand.

Meta’s Zuckerberg is leading the way with plans to build a nuclear-powered AI data center to support the company’s rapid AI development. However, the land designated for construction has encountered several obstacles.

As reported by the Financial Times, a rare bee species was discovered next to the center’s planned location, complicating the project.

Quoting two sources who participated in the company-wide meeting last week, the Financial Times said that “had the deal gone ahead, Meta would have been the first big tech group to wield nuclear-powered AI.”

The report didn’t mention the exact location of the planned data center. Apparently, Zuckerberg has been frustrated by the lack of nuclear power supply in the US, especially in comparison with China, a major rival of US tech companies.

Meta declined to comment on the matter. On Monday, however, it made a different announcement. The company said it was making its Llama AI model available to the US government and contractors working on national security applications.

“They [large language models] can help to streamline complicated logistics and planning, track terrorist financing, or strengthen our cyber defenses,” the company noted.

Recently, all major tech firms announced investments in nuclear energy, recognizing AI for the energy-hungry beast that it is.

Firms are mostly eyeing small modular reactors, or microreactors, that are quicker and cheaper to install than regular reactors. However, the technology has yet to be applied for commercial use, and the Sam Altman-backed Oklo could be the company behind the first commercial microreactor planned for 2027.