The Dutch government’s takeover this week of Chinese-owned Nexperia was an extraordinary move to “de-risk” and “decouple” for reasons of technological sovereignty and supply chain resilience, but the removal of CEO Zhang Xuezheng and transfer of control over voting rights on Nexperia was widely decried in China, which implemented export controls on Nexperia and on critical rare-earth metals.
Other Western countries that try to shift away from traditional open blocs toward deals that prioritize allies may have to walk a fine line between tech protectionism and the need to nurture China as a major market and supplier for tech.
China’s neighbor to the south perhaps has a more favorable view of the U.S. this week, as India’s government reacted optimistically to news of Alphabet’s $15 billion AI data center in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the deal as a step towards India’s “Viksit Bharat” vision for a developed nation. With the Trump Administration’s push for domestic investments, Alphabet’s announcement emphasized the project would generate “at least $15 billion over five years in American GDP,” and tap talent and resources from India and the U.S.
In another regional milestone, OpenAI and Sur Energy signed a letter of intent for a $25 billion “Stargate Argentina” project – a 500-MW AI data center in Patagonia. Since the region is renowned for its open spaces and huge potential for wind and hydropower, there is optimism around President Javier Milei’s focus to make Argentina a “sustainable innovation hub” and an AI hub for Latin America. Financed by Argentina’s RIGI program (Incentive Regime for Large Investments), the project would be the largest tech infrastructure project in the country’s history.
Susana Schwartz
Technology Editor
RCRTech
AI Infrastructure Top Stories
Landmark moment: The Hague’s takeover of Nexperia signals that Western governments may be more protective of supply chains, intellectual property and national security.
Milestone investment: Google’s $15B AI hub in Visakhapatnam is the company’s largest investment in India, aiming to expand compute capacity and AI infrastructure under the Viksit Bharat 2047 initiative.
Stargate Argentina: OpenAI and local energy firm Sur Energy signed a letter of intent for a $25 billion, 500 megawatt data center in Argentina. Plans are to leverage Patagonia’s abundant renewable energy resources.
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