Leaders worldwide are moving fast to deploy AI at scale. But scaling AI means more data centers—and data centers consume vast quantities of energy. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey’s Jesse Noffsinger and Pankaj Sachdeva speak with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about what needs to happen to build new, bigger data centers quickly, as well as to sate their growing hunger for power.

Articles mentioned: 

A generational shift: The future of foreign aid

Risk rebalancing: Five important geopolitical-risk questions for CIOs

Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw

Leaders worldwide are moving fast to deploy AI at scale. But scaling AI means more data centers&mdash;and data centers consume vast quantities of energy. On this episode of <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-podcast">The McKinsey Podcast</a>, McKinsey&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/jesse-noffsinger">Jesse Noffsinger</a> and <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/pankaj-sachdeva">Pankaj Sachdeva</a> speak with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about what needs to happen to build new, bigger data centers quickly, as well as to sate their growing hunger for power.
Articles mentioned:&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/social-sector/our-insights/a-generational-shift-the-future-of-foreign-aid">A generational shift: The future of foreign aid</a>
<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/risk-rebalancing-five-important-geopolitical-risk-questions-for-cios">Risk rebalancing: Five important geopolitical-risk questions for CIOs</a>
Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw

The McKinsey Podcast, our new flagship podcast series, takes you inside our global firm, and features conversations with experts on issues that matter most in business and management. McKinsey & Company is a management-consulting firm that helps businesses, governments, and not-for-profit organizations realize their most important goals. Topics covered in this series include strategy, technology, leadership, marketing, operations, organization, and the role of business in society.

The McKinsey Podcast features conversations with experts from global management-consulting firm McKinsey & Company, focusing on the issues that matter most in business and management.

The McKinsey Podcast

Our flagship series The McKinsey Podcast takes you inside our global firm, and features conversations with experts on issues that matter most in business and management. McKinsey & Company is a management-consulting firm that helps businesses, governments, and not-for-profit organizations realize their most important goals. Topics covered in this series include strategy, technology, leadership, marketing, operations, organization, and the role of business in society.

Our flagship series The McKinsey Podcast takes you inside our global firm, and features conversations with experts on issues that matter most in business and management. McKinsey &amp; Company is a management-consulting firm that helps businesses, governments, and not-for-profit organizations realize their most important goals. Topics covered in this series include strategy, technology, leadership, marketing, operations, organization, and the role of business in society.

Data centers: The race to power AI

“A bank and a steel company can walk into a bar and not have much to do with each other. But once one of the arena companies walks in, we’re all involved.” That’s McKinsey Global Institute director Chris Bradley. On the latest episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Chris spoke with global editorial director Lucia Rahilly about a new report delving into the next arenas of competition—namely, a set of dynamic, high-growth industries that are fundamentally redefining the global economy and changing the game for businesses across the board.

Article mentioned:
The McKinsey Quarterly

Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.

&ldquo;A bank and a steel company can walk into a bar and not have much to do with each other. But once one of the arena companies walks in, we&rsquo;re all involved.&rdquo; That&rsquo;s McKinsey Global Institute director <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/chris-bradley">Chris Bradley</a>. On the latest episode of <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-podcast">The McKinsey Podcast</a>, Chris spoke with global editorial director Lucia Rahilly about a <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/our-research/the-next-big-arenas-of-competition">new report</a> delving into the next arenas of competition&mdash;namely, a set of dynamic, high-growth industries that are fundamentally redefining the global economy and changing the game for businesses across the board.
Article mentioned: <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/quarterly/overview">The McKinsey Quarterly</a>
Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.

The industries reshaping our global economy

Gen AI is evolving fast—but employee adoption is slow for most companies. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, we feature an episode of our technology podcast, At the Edge. Tech visionaries Navin Chaddha, managing partner at Mayfield Fund; Kiran Prasad, McKinsey senior adviser and CEO and cofounder of Big Basin Labs; and Naba Banerjee, McKinsey senior adviser and former director of trust and operations at Airbnb, join guest host and McKinsey Senior Partner Brian Gregg. They unpack the technical, cultural, and organizational challenges companies face—and what leaders can do to realize gen AI’s full potential while managing its risks.

Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.

Gen AI is evolving fast&mdash;but employee adoption is slow for most companies. On this episode of&nbsp;<a href="https://preview.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-podcast">The McKinsey Podcast</a>, we feature an episode of our technology podcast,&nbsp;<a href="https://preview.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/at-the-edge-podcast">At the Edge</a>. Tech visionaries Navin Chaddha, managing partner at Mayfield Fund; Kiran Prasad, McKinsey senior adviser and CEO and cofounder of Big Basin Labs; and Naba Banerjee, McKinsey senior adviser and former director of trust and operations at Airbnb, join guest host and McKinsey Senior Partner&nbsp;<a href="https://preview.mckinsey.com/our-people/brian-gregg">Brian Gregg</a>. They unpack the technical, cultural, and organizational challenges companies face&mdash;and what leaders can do to realize gen AI&rsquo;s full potential while managing its risks.
Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.

Gen AI is here—but where are its users?

Intro

What's new at McKinsey.com

What is Agentic AI?

Digital Coworkers at Work

Scaling AI Adoption

Robotics on the Rise

Energy Transition

Application-Specific Chips

Digital Trust & Cybersecurity

Global competition has intensified, and the demand for energy and computing power is growing exponentially as companies embed AI, robotics, and other technologies into their everyday business processes. McKinsey’s annual outlook on technology trends points to 13 “frontier” trends that can help companies get a handle on these and other challenges. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast McKinsey Senior Partners Lareina Yee, Roger Roberts, and Sven Smit share the latest data and their insights on digital innovation, implementation, infrastructure, and trust with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly.

Articles Mentioned:

How CEOs are responding to geopolitical uncertainty

A CEO for All Seasons: Mastering the Cycles of Leadership

Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw

Global competition has intensified, and the demand for energy and computing power is growing exponentially as companies embed AI, robotics, and other technologies into their everyday business processes. McKinsey&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/the-top-trends-in-tech">annual outlook on technology trends</a> points to 13 &ldquo;frontier&rdquo; trends that can help companies get a handle on these and other challenges. On this episode of <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-podcast">The McKinsey Podcast</a> McKinsey Senior Partners <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/lareina-yee">Lareina Yee</a>, <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/roger-roberts">Roger Roberts</a>, and <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/sven-smit">Sven Smit</a> share the latest data and their insights on digital innovation, implementation, infrastructure, and trust with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly.
Articles Mentioned:
<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/geopolitics/our-insights/how-ceos-are-responding-to-geopolitical-uncertainty">How CEOs are responding to geopolitical uncertainty</a>
<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-books/ceo-for-all-seasons">A CEO for All Seasons: Mastering the Cycles of Leadership</a>
Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw

Data centers: The race to power AI

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