Page 8 - RE-NJ

6 WINTER 2024
THE
BRIEFING
$1 BILLION DATA CENTER SLATED
FOR NEST CAMPUS IN KENILWORTH
A new $1 billion data center is
coming to the Northeast Science &
Technology Center — the sprawling
former Merck & Co. campus
in Kenilworth — where cloud
computing fi rm CoreWeave has
signed a long-term lease with Onyx
Equities and Machine Investment
Group.
According to a news release,
the startup plans to convert a
280,000-square-foot former lab
and manufacturing building at the
2 million-square-foot complex on
Galloping Hill Road. It’s part of a
planned $1.2 billion investment by
Roseland-based CoreWeave, a key
player in artifi cial intelligence that
is backed by the chip giant Nvidia,
paving the way for the fi rm’s fi rst
data center in New Jersey.
The Onyx-led venture, which
acquired the 108-acre campus early
last year, also expects to spend more
than $50 million on the project.
“CoreWeave’s commitment to invest
over a billion dollars at the NEST
campus demonstrates New Jersey’s
leading role
in artifi cial
intelligence, and
our innovation
strategies are
working,” Gov.
Phil Murphy
said. “Through
collaboration
Phil Murphy
with utilities,
government, investors and real
estate developers, we’re committed
to attracting businesses that will
build an innovation economy for the
future. Thanks to PSE&G, Mayor
Linda Karlovitch, the development
team at Onyx Equities, Machine
Investment Group and CoreWeave,
this new data center will further fuel
our state’s leadership in innovation.”
JLL represented Onyx, while
Cushman & Wakefi eld represented
CoreWeave, which provides cloud
infrastructure and rents out high-end
semiconductor chips like the kind
that has fueled Nvidia’s meteoric
rise.
“This partnership positions the NEST
campus as a major hub for data
processing, AI
and biopharma
innovation,”
said John
Saraceno, a
cofounder
and managing
principal of
Onyx Equities.
John Saraceno
“CoreWeave
will be a key cornerstone of NEST,
as life science and biotechnology
tenants at the campus will benefi t
from CoreWeave’s advanced cloud
infrastructure to support their AI-
driven projects and boost research
and development capabilities.”
As part of the Oct. 24 announcement,
PSE&G said it would begin to ready
the area’s electrical infrastructure to
support the energy needs of the data
center facility. The utility currently
serves more than 30 large data
centers.
“PSE&G is committed to providing
safe, affordable and reliable energy
to all of our customers, no matter
their location or their energy
requirements,” said Ralph LaRossa,
chair, president and CEO of PSEG,
PSE&G’s parent company. “This
project is a good example of the
work that Governor Murphy and the
New Jersey Economic Development
Authority are doing to foster a new
wave of economic development
for our state. We are excited to
welcome and partner with Onyx and
CoreWeave on this project.”
CoreWeave, meantime, said it more
than quadrupled its data center
footprint in 2023. It’s now on track
to end the year with 28 data centers
globally.
“We are incredibly excited to open
a next-generation data center in
CoreWeave’s home state of New
Jersey,” CEO and cofounder Michael
Intrator said. “Governor Phil
Murphy’s efforts have helped spur
the creation of an AI ecosystem
in the state, and CoreWeave’s
announcement today underscores
that New Jersey is open for AI
business.”
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