When DeepSeek shocked Silicon Valley with its extremely low cost in early 2025, no one expected that this algorithm savvy company would choose to heavily invest in infrastructure a year later.

Recently, DeepSeek is planning to build a 1GW AI data center in Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia, with some computing power expected to be put into operation by the end of 2027 or early 2028. This Chinese AI star company is changing its track from light asset algorithms to heavy asset computing power.

What does 1GW mean

A 1GW power capacity is a landmark threshold in the AI data center competition. Nvidia CEO Huang Renxun once estimated that the investment cost of a 1GW data center equipped with the most advanced AI accelerator could reach up to $50 billion. This scale was previously only seen in mega projects such as Stargate planned by Microsoft and OpenAI. Ulanqab is not without precedent.

By the end of 2025, this city has signed 84 data center projects, including 81 intelligent computing centers, with a total investment of over 500 billion yuan. Ulanqab is becoming the core carrier of computing power accumulation in the north due to its cool climate with an average annual temperature of 4.3 ℃ and abundant green electricity.

The Computational Logic of Ulanqab

The logic behind DeepSeek's site selection in Ulanqab is not complicated. This is located about 350 kilometers northwest of Beijing, with an average annual temperature of 4.3 ℃. The natural low temperature can lower the PUE to below 1.2, far exceeding the national average level. At the same time, a dual circuit high-capacity optical cable directly connected to Beijing has been laid within the country, with a network latency of only 4.2 milliseconds. More importantly, there is direct green power supply.

The first data center source network load storage integration project of Zhongjin Data in China has been put into operation in 2025, which can provide 848 million kilowatt hours of self generated green electricity annually, and clean electricity can be directly supplied to the computing power center through dedicated lines. The proportion of green electricity in the newly built data center in Ulanqab has exceeded 80%. Keywords: AI data center, high-tech computing power

When algorithm iterations reach the ceiling of computing power, building a self built super computing center becomes a necessary move for DeepSeek. Starting from Ulanqab, this company is using heavy assets to answer a fundamental question: how far can a model company without a base go.Editor/Cheng Liting