Susana Schwartz
A who's-who of BYOP seeks ‘time-to-power’ for DCs
Today’s lead story looks at time-to-power in the AI race, which is driving a who’s-who of BYOP, with not only hyperscalers, but also power companies, data center developers, colocation providers, and industrial companies getting into the mix. Strategies continue to evolve for behind-the-meter baseload generation, where data centers bypass traditional utility grids for immediate, reliable electricity. They’re going to need it, if the S&P “Global Market Intelligence 2026 US Datacenter and Energy Report” is any indication: U.S. power generation will reach 4,400 TWh in 2026, with data center power demand to increase from 2025’s 366 TWh to as much as 728 TWh by 2030. Check out “The Rise of Bring Your Own,” and other stories in “Top Stories,” below, as well as today’s AI infrastructure news in “What You Need to Know.”
Susana Schwartz
Technology Editor
RCRTech
AI Infrastructure Top Stories
BYOP on the rise: GW Ranch, Microsoft, Google, Meta, and others are all-in with BYOP in the time-to-power race for AI infrastructure. Diversity is key, with a varied and diverse approach that includes nuclear, solar, wind, battery storage and more.
AI agents for network automation: 6G will fuel the era of agentic AI, which could deliver on the promise of agent-based autonomous network operations, says VistaAI, whose customers are shifting from network observers to users of the data.
Edge AI accelerators: Most sophisticated deployments don’t pick purely edge or purely cloud, but rather blend both in a hybrid model, with backend cloud instances handling model training, complex computations, and elastic scalability.
AI Today: What You Need to Know
1% of GDP for sovereignty: The cost of digital sovereignty is 1% of entire GDP, says Gartner VP Analyst Gaurav Gupta, who says 35% of geographies will be locked into Region-Specific AI platforms using proprietary contextual data by 2027.
Brookings report on DC threats: A recent Brookings report says electricity use, water consumption, tax abatements, and environmental impact are increasingly slowing or threatening data center projects.
NY semiconductor factory: A $300 million factory will create and supply dry-pump vacuum technology critical for Micron’s NY facility in Clay, where semiconductors and computer chips will be manufactured.
Broadcom maintains #1 spot: Broadcom is projected to retain its leadership as the premier AI Server Compute ASIC design partner with a 60% market share in 2027, according to a recent report from Counterpoint Research.
AI replacing EV focus at Tesla?: After profits fell 61% in the fourth quarter of 2025, Tesla CEO Elon Musk is pushing forward with huge investments in AI chips and infrastructure, humanoid robots, and solar energy.
OpenAI looking for Nvidia alternatives?: Is OpenAI “unsatisfied” with some of Nvidia’s latest AI chips? Reporting indicates it is seeking alternatives, potentially complicating the relationship between the two highest-profile players in the AI boom.
