AI data center planned for Beit Shemesh as Modi’in center opens

The competitors to construct information facilities in Israel for processing AI is heating up. Immediately 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 can be allotted to the Israel Innovation Authority for the operation of the nationwide supercomputer. The middle, which gives AI processing utilizing eight megawatts electrical energy, incorporates 4,000 Nvidia graphics processors costing about $300 million, and its building value was estimated at $80 million. The Modi’in information heart shouldn’t be the one one. In latest weeks, as a part of the rising competitors to supply AI providers, 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 providers 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 few 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 arrange 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 info heart will initially be capable of accommodate 20,000 graphics processors, 5 instances the quantity at present occupying the info 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 robust, Mega Or may proceed to put money into the middle as much as a most of 220 megawatts by 2035. The info heart itself is giant, probably spanning 54,000 sq. meters, and its building value 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 can be expanded by 7,000 sq. meters at a price of NIS 150 million, a brand new information heart can 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 time that it might construct, along with Ashtrom and Har-Tov Cement, an influence plant referred to as Shimshon, which can produce 830 megawatts of electrical energy and incorporate storage services 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.

The 2 greatest gamers in Israel’s AI information facilities sector, Mega Or and SDS, entered the sector after increasing from the logistics services sector. Mega Or entered the sector final 12 months, whereas SDS is a pioneer in cloud computing information facilities, and already homes Microsoft and Google’s Israel operations. Israel, nevertheless, 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 can be privately leased. This pales compared to main nations 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 authorized the UAE importing 500,000 Nvidia processors this 12 months.

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 isn’t a authorities planning that takes their wants under consideration and that the state is delaying the licensing of storage services which can be important to lowering prices.

MK Orit Farkash-Cohen, former Electrical energy Authority chair and present chair of the Knesset AI Committee, says, “AI programs devour huge quantities of electrical energy and the development is just growing. Nevertheless, whereas nations just like the US, China and European nations 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 mentioned, “There isn’t any quantitative goal adopted for the implementation of AI computing energy, and therefore there are additionally no vitality targets derived from this in the long run to advertise these objectives. Every thing depends on the prevailing building of knowledge facilities with out marking a quantitative and substantive goal that’s fascinating for Israel to ascertain and restore its place within the discipline. The federal government should additionally set up supportive and incentive preparations within the vitality discipline – whether or not by easing connection instances, designated allocations, storage, incentives – to advertise the sector and be sure that Israel works to safe vitality 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.