Don't rent the cloud, own instead
blog.comma.ai
February 5, 2026
8 min read
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77/100
Summary
Comma operates its own data center for model training, metrics, and data storage. Owning a data center offers advantages over cloud solutions, enabling more control and customization.
Key Takeaways
- Comma operates its own data center, which has cost approximately $5 million, significantly less than the estimated $25 million it would have spent using cloud services.
- Running a personal data center allows for greater control over compute resources, avoiding the high costs and inefficiencies associated with cloud providers.
- The data center utilizes 600 GPUs in custom-built machines and employs outside air cooling to minimize energy consumption.
- Power costs in San Diego are high, with an estimated expenditure of $540,112 on electricity in 2025, prompting plans to produce their own power in the future.
Community Sentiment
Positives
- Managed private cloud solutions can significantly reduce operational costs, making them a viable alternative for companies looking to optimize their spending without heavy capital expenditure.
- Renting bare metal instead of virtual machines can provide better performance for the same cost, which is beneficial for companies that require high computational power.
Concerns
- The high upfront capital expenditure and associated risks of owning infrastructure make it impractical for most startups until they reach a late-stage growth phase.
- Reliability concerns with on-premise solutions can deter companies from adopting them, as managing multiple data centers and ensuring disaster recovery is complex and resource-intensive.