AI information heart deliberate for Beit Shemesh as Modiin heart opens
The competitors to construct information facilities in Israel for processing AI is heating up. At this time Mega Or (TASE: MGOR), managed by Zahi Nahmias, and Nebius, owned by Arkady Volozh, launched their information heart for processing AI in Modi’in.
That is the most important AI computing facility in Israel, 25% of which will probably be allotted to the Israel Innovation Authority for the operation of the nationwide supercomputer. The middle, which supplies AI processing utilizing eight megawatts electrical energy, incorporates 4,000 Nvidia graphics processors costing about $300 million, and its development price was estimated at $80 million. The Modi’in information heart isn’t the one one. In current weeks, as a part of the rising competitors to offer AI companies, SDS, owned by Yossi Sheinfeld, along with Israeli unicorn Huge Knowledge, additionally launched a knowledge heart in Beit Yehoshua close to Netanya, which homes about 2,000 Blackwell (B200) processors.
Three extra information facilities on the best way
Competitors for offering AI processing companies to authorities ministries, non-public corporations and the protection sector in Israel is increasing by leaps and bounds, with Mega Or planning to construct one other information heart, a number of instances bigger than the one in Modi’in, in Beit Shemesh. Will probably be constructed to function with {an electrical} capability of as much as 220 megawatts inside a couple of decade at a website in Beit Shemesh, on a plot of land adjoining to the cement plant.
The corporate is already finishing up work to organize the bottom on the website for the development of 10% of the potential capability of the middle, about 20 megawatts at a price of $200 million. The information heart will initially be capable to accommodate 20,000 graphics processors, 5 instances the quantity at present occupying the information heart in Modi’in, though the tenant in Modi’in, Nebius, additionally plans doubling the variety of processors on website to eight,000, topic to demand.
If demand for the Beit Shemesh website proves to be sturdy, Mega Or might proceed to spend money on the middle as much as a most of 220 megawatts by 2035. The information heart itself is massive, probably spanning 54,000 sq. meters, and its development price is predicted to exceed $2 billion over a decade. Within the close to time period, Mega Or is constructing three smaller information facilities. The middle in Modiin will probably be expanded by 7,000 sq. meters at a price of NIS 150 million, a brand new information heart will probably be inbuilt Yoav Park within the south on an space of 20,000 sq. meters at a price of NIS 350 million, and in Haifa, a 14,000 sq. meter information heart is deliberate at a price of about NIS 200 million.
On the Beit Shemesh website, Mega Or can be at present constructing a substation that can provide high-voltage gas-based electrical energy to the area at a capability of 200 megawatts. It additionally introduced final summer season that it will construct, along with Ashtrom and Har-Tov Cement, an influence plant known as Shimshon, which is able to produce 830 megawatts of electrical energy and incorporate storage amenities to assist provide electrical energy throughout peak hours. The funding within the plant will quantity to about $1 billion and is a part of the corporate’s technique to construct energy vegetation alongside information facilities.
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The 2 largest gamers in Israel’s AI information facilities sector, Mega Or and SDS, entered the sector after increasing from the logistics amenities sector. Mega Or entered the sector final yr, whereas SDS is a pioneer in cloud computing information facilities, and already homes Microsoft and Google’s Israel operations. Israel, nonetheless, lags behind the world within the tempo of deploying graphics processors for AI processing.
Whereas the nationwide supercomputer was inaugurated simply this morning with solely about 1,000 graphics processors, the remaining 3,000 processors will probably be privately leased. This pales compared to main international locations on the planet: Final month, Nebius’ British competitor, Nscale, introduced plans to deploy 300,000 Nvidia processors in the long run, and to construct a supercomputer within the UK. Earlier this month, the US accepted the UAE importing 500,000 Nvidia processors this yr.
Electrical energy scarcity: No targets or incentives
In Israel, AI information heart planners are dealing with an electrical energy scarcity, and so they declare there is no such thing as a authorities planning that takes their wants into consideration and that the state is delaying the licensing of storage amenities which are important to lowering prices.
MK Orit Farkash-Cohen, former Electrical energy Authority chair and present chair of the Knesset AI Committee, says, “AI techniques eat huge quantities of electrical energy and the pattern is barely rising. Nonetheless, whereas international locations just like the US, China and European international locations are busy selling plans to speed up help for institution of electrical energy infrastructure that can meet the governments’ objectives of constructing information facilities and AI infrastructure, Israel is lagging behind.”
She stated, “There isn’t any quantitative goal adopted for the implementation of AI computing energy, and therefore there are additionally no power targets derived from this in the long run to advertise these objectives. Every little thing depends on the prevailing development of knowledge facilities with out marking a quantitative and substantive goal that’s fascinating for Israel to ascertain and restore its place within the subject. The federal government should additionally set up supportive and incentive preparations within the power subject – whether or not by way of easing connection instances, designated allocations, storage, incentives – to advertise the sector and be certain that Israel works to safe power sources. The Ministry of Finance has issued an preliminary name on the topic, but it surely should be urgently supplemented with an implementation plan and clear targets.”
Revealed by Globes, Israel enterprise information – en.globes.co.il – on October 20, 2025.
© Copyright of Globes Writer Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2025.
