Triggered by the rise of generative AI applications, China rapidly expanded its AI infrastructure in 2023 – 2024 and built hundreds of new data centers using both state and private funding. But this boom has since lost momentum. Facilities that cost billions of dollars now sit underused, returns are falling, and the market for GPU rentals has collapsed. To make the matters worse, many data centers became outdated before they were even fully operational as market conditions have changed, according to MIT Technology Review.
