Amazon's secret 'Titus' project revealed to power future AI chips

An internal Amazon initiative aims to rapidly build next-generation data centres for the looming AI power crunch.

Internal planning documents reviewed by Business Insider have detailed a project known as 'Titus'. The effort aims to future-proof its giant facilities for the AI era.

"The objective of the Titus portfolio... is to deliver the next AWS generational Data Center design," one internal document reportedly states.

The push underscores the pressure on cloud computing infrastructure. Its CEO Andy Jassy has identified power as the 'single biggest constraint' for the company. This comes as the International Energy Agency projects electricity use from data centres could double by 2030, with AI's power use tripling.

The Amazon Web Services project initially focused on speed. It has since expanded into a broader infrastructure upgrade for future AI chips.

AWS aims to slash the time from "shell start" to the first live server room. The new goal is under 35 weeks, which is well below industry standards.

Titus also raises the total compute capacity per site. It will reportedly increase to about 68 megawatts from around 58 megawatts.

The new designs will support much broader liquid-cooled deployments. This reflects that traditional air cooling may not be sufficient for powerful new AI hardware.

Central to this is AWS's "In-Row Heat Exchanger" system. It is an internally developed liquid-cooling technology that avoids major redesigns to existing centres.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy previously shared details of the system. He said it enables AWS to "support traditional workloads and demanding AI applications in the same facilities."

Reyk Knuhtsen, an analyst at SemiAnalysis, told the outlet it marks an "important strategy push" for the tech giant.

"We're seeing Amazon really come out to the races with new designs optimised for faster deployment," Knuhtsen explained.

The Titus roadmap suggests Amazon is preparing for a new generation of even more power-intensive hardware from companies like Nvidia. The documents repeatedly reference higher rack power density. They mention support for new GPUs including Nvidia's GB200 systems.

One document mentions plans for wider aisles. These are designed to accommodate "GB200 and future generations of racks with increased space requirements."

A newer version of Titus data centres is expected to roll out in the first half of 2027.

This should be in time for Nvidia's latest Vera Rubin GPU server systems. These new systems promise dramatically higher power use.

The project also seeks to lower costs and reduce environmental impact. Targets call for a 10% cost reduction per kilowatt of IT capacity. It is also designed to meet the company's 2028 carbon-emissions goals. Stricter noise standards are also being implemented.

Engineers are also trying to reduce "stranded power." This refers to any unused electrical capacity within the data centres.

As one internal planning document puts it: "How do we future-proof our Data Center design and better respond to capacity demand signals?"