Susana SchwartzBig AI infrastructure deals spark rally
Corning and Qualcomm stocks rallied yesterday, along with other AI-related stocks that got a boost from the Corning-Verizon deal, and the Qualcomm-AWS deal. For example, Intel surged 9%, while AMD jumped 6%.Â
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Northland Securities upgraded Intel stock to “Outperform,” citing progress in its ongoing corporate turnaround and external foundry ambitions, while a $3 trillion projection  from AMD CFO Jean Hu helped build confidence in the AI-chips addressable market.
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When asked yesterday about whether he’d consider Intel as a foundry partner, AMD CFO Jean Hu emphasized his company’s relationship with TSMC, stating, “If you look at a lot of our technology, we actually co-develop it with TSMC.” The statement was made during Citigroup’s Global TMT Conference.
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These and other high-profile deals illustrate continued investor confidence in the long-term durability of AI infrastructure, with momentum moving beyond GPUs and toward other pieces of the supply chain.
Susana Schwartz
Technology Editor
RCRTech
AI Infrastructure Top Stories
AI-RAN for AI-native networks: Speaking during the RCRTech Telco AI Forum, Gabriel Foglander, head of strategic RAN leadership at Ericsson, described AI-RAN as a bridge toward a broader shift to AI embedded across network domains.
Rising value of fiber assets: In the realm of AI interconnect, Shenandoah Telecommunications signed with an unnamed hyperscaler for fiber connectivity – a deal that lands alongside a wave of consolidation reshaping the fiber market.
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DeepSeek preparing for IPO: DeepSeek has engaged CITIC Securities to prepare for an IPO on Shanghai’s STAR Market, according to Reuters reporting.The timing of a potential offering and its target valuation have not been determined.Â
Google’s largest investment in Europe: Google will invest at least €13 billion in digital infrastructure in Finland over the next two years (2027 – 2028), with p lans for a data center and partnerships in Hamina, Kajaani, Muhos and Vaala.Â
Trump admin $1.9B nuclear plant: The Trump administration is putting $1.9 billion toward restarting a Google-backed nuclear plant in Iowa, with the DOE finalizing a loan to help NextEra Energy bring the Duane Arnold Energy Center back online.
Oregon Governor DC pause: Governor Kotek directed state agencies to pause unapproved requests for easements, rights-of-way, leases, rentals, land-use permits, and sales/transfers of state-owned property for DC projects.
Google-Blackstone Project Braid: Project Braid will bring 500MW of capacity online in 2027, but Bloomberg reported a “snag” in that Crusoe paused work “at the request of our customer,” after which Google took over the project.
ADI to acquire Alif: Analog Devices will acquire Alif Semiconductor in an all-cash transaction for $1.35B, with up to $200 million in additional contingent consideration. Alif will help redefine edge intelligence with AI-native microcontrollers.
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