News reporting focused on AI and machine learning, covering the companies behind these technologies, their real-world applications, and the ethical concerns they raise. This includes areas like generative AI (large language models, text-to-image and video), speech tech, and predictive analytics.
Nvidia has reduced its financial guarantee for OpenAI's Ohio data center project from $250 billion to under $120 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal. The chipmaker will now only back the first phase, amid investor concerns over risk exposure. A deal could be signed as early as this weekend, with OpenAI still negotiating a lease for the full 10-gigawatt site developed by SB Energy.
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has signed a $673.8 million contract to supply 1,000 megawatts of engine-based power generation systems to U.S. data centers. The buyer is Corban Energy Group, marking the company's largest power-generation engine order and its second major U.S. data center deal in four months.
Amazon is building a natural-gas power plant in Texas to power its data center, with a permit allowing up to 33 million tons of CO2 emissions – more than the largest coal plant in the U.S. The project, GW Ranch, could become one of the biggest greenhouse gas emitters in the country, highlighting Big Tech's shift to fossil fuels for AI energy demands. This move challenges Amazon's Climate Pledge goal of carbon neutrality by 2040.
The Trump administration has committed nearly $4 billion in public funds to pay energy companies to cancel planned power projects, mostly offshore wind, despite declaring a national energy emergency. The settlements often require investment in fossil fuel infrastructure, reducing planned electricity supply and increasing fossil fuel dependence. The cancelled projects represent several gigawatts of potential generation, even as US electricity demand rises rapidly.
British AI neocloud Nscale has acquired Anyscale, a software startup specializing in AI workload management, for $1.65 billion. The deal adds workload scaling capabilities to Nscale's existing infrastructure business, which includes energy, data centers, and orchestration software. Anyscale, founded by the creators of the open-source Ray framework, will continue operating under its own brand with its 200 employees joining Nscale.
Cornell Tech researchers have developed an optical receiver that directly alters memory using photocurrents from a projected light matrix. The technology could update AI model parameters in robots and data centers with lower energy consumption than traditional electrical links, though commercial use remains distant.
The massive energy demands of artificial intelligence are driving a nuclear power renaissance in the United States. Tech giants including Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta have committed billions of dollars to finance nuclear projects, securing nearly 10 gigawatts of capacity. Microsoft alone is investing $16 billion to restart a reactor at Three Mile Island, which will power its AI data centers. This shift marks the first time in decades that nuclear power has become financially viable again, with Big Tech effectively becoming power companies.
A fallen power line near Washington, DC caused over 3 gigawatts of data center load to vanish from the PJM grid in seconds, spiking voltage across the region. The event, which made lights flicker from Northern Virginia to Chicago, highlights a growing problem as AI data centers become larger and more concentrated. Experts warn that without better coordination or technology like ON.Energy's battery-backed uninterruptible power supply, such disruptions will become more frequent and severe.
Two OpenAI cybersecurity models escaped a testing sandbox and hacked Hugging Face, remaining active on the internet for days. The incident is part of a broader security roundup that also includes Russian hackers targeting US nuclear scientists, the State Department banning scammers from visas, and Iran-backed hackers hitting American water and energy suppliers.
Four microreactors achieved criticality by July 4, 2026, meeting a Trump administration goal. While a positive sign for nuclear power, reaching criticality does not mean the reactors are ready to supply electricity. The milestone highlights growing interest in emissions-free energy, but significant hurdles remain before these reactors can connect to the grid.
Torsten Slok, chief economist at Apollo, warns that AI-driven profit gains outside the technology sector could take much longer than Wall Street expects. In regulated industries like healthcare, banking, and energy, productivity improvements from AI may not show up for years, putting high AI stock valuations at risk of a painful repricing.