Microsoft has confirmed the end of its revolutionary undersea data center project, Project Natick, which ended testing in 2020 despite being a successful proof-of-concept.
Project Natick revealed that underwater data centers might be more reliable and efficient, with a server failure rate of 0.7% underwater against 5.9% on land.
The subsea data centers used cool ocean water for natural cooling, resulting in much lower energy usage and operational costs than standard land-based data centers.
Microsoft's Cloud Operations + Innovation division learned useful lessons about underwater operations, vibration impacts, and server performance, which will be applied to future projects.
Microsoft ensures Project Natick's environmental integrity by appropriately recycling experiment components and restoring the seafloor to its original condition, demonstrating a commitment to sustainability.
While the future of larger-scale subsea data centers remains questionable, Microsoft has hinted at other ambitious data center aspirations, such as a $100 billion cooperation with OpenAI, indicating a strategic shift toward concentrated developments.