Susana Schwartz
BlackRock, Microsoft raise $12.5B in private money
Susana Schwartz
Technology Editor
RCRTech
AI Infrastructure Top Stories
AWS $9.04B USD investment in EU: In response to the EU push for strict data and privacy regulations, Amazon this week invested €7.8 billion in Brandenburg Germany for an EU-based sovereign cloud that will be locally controlled and staffed.
Spirent on testing changes in DCs: Testing is now crucial in the race to get to get to 1.6T speeds and beyond, with data center operators investing in ultra-high-speed Ethernet technologies and expensive software to orchestrate the fabric.
SoftBank’s net-zero push: With a greater emphasis on solar and wind energy, SoftBank is testing a hybrid-powered base station in Japan that boasts self-generation of power, running independently through power outages and disruptions.
AI Today: What You Need to Know
BlackRock-Microsoft $12.5B venture: BlackRock, its Global Infrastructure Partners unit, Microsoft, Abu Dhabi–based MGX, Nvidia, and xAI are rapidly procuring funding for new and expanded data centers and energy infrastructure.
Blackstone examines “AI factoids”: Blackstone, the biggest owner of data centers and utilities, examined many facts, such as, “inference cost is 99% lower than it was two years ago, and yet 37x more data center absorption today than five years ago.”
U.S.-Taiwan chips deal: The U.S. and Taiwan have clinched a trade deal that cuts tariffs on many of the semiconductor powerhouse’s exports, right after the Trump administration levied a 25% tariff on a range of Chinese semiconductor imports.
IBM AI Sovereign Core Software: IBM has launched the solution to help enterprises, governments, and service providers build, deploy, and manage AI sovereign environments and to enhance enterprise compliance management.
Trump direct on PJM emergency power auction: The National Energy Dominance Council and the governors of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, and other states are directing PJM Interconnection to hold an emergency power auction.
Oracle sued by bondholders: Oracle has been sued by bondholders upset about the amount of debt Oracle would have to sell to support the AI buildout for its $300 billion OpenAI deal, which would require compute expansion through Stargate.
