Data Centers
Ongoing coverage on Data Centers.
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Sunday Tech Bits
Apple's WWDC 2026 keynote will be available to watch on June 8. Separately, Google is reportedly exploring tapping into thousands of homes for electricity to power its data centers instead of constructing new power plants.
Evening Tech Bits
Meta is reportedly constructing large tent-like structures across the United States to house AI servers, a move described as reminiscent of 'Mad Max.' These structures, which take three months to build, utilize jet engines for power.
Google pledges to replenish more water than it uses at data centers by 2030
Google has announced a new initiative to replenish more water than its data centers consume by the year 2030. This move comes amid increasing concerns regarding the significant water usage of data center operations.
Everything We Saw at TechEx North America 2026
TechEx North America 2026, held at the San Jose Convention Center, showcased seven sectors of industrial and business technology. The event featured companies like HP Inc., TuxCare, and LG CNS, highlighting advancements in AI, IoT, and cybersecurity. Future events are planned for 2027, continuing the focus on networking and exploring industry solutions.
Morning Tech Bits
US authorities are reportedly concerned about the emergence of 'anti-tech extremists' amid growing disputes over AI data centers. This trend highlights increasing tensions surrounding the development and infrastructure of artificial intelligence.
US Government may begin to monitor suspected Anti-AI ‘extremist activity’
The United States government may begin monitoring individuals and activities deemed 'anti-tech extremist,' according to unpublished reports. This potential surveillance, which could include observing photography or probing security, has raised concerns about the chilling effect on first amendment freedoms, particularly for those skeptical of Artificial Intelligence and the expansion of data centers.
Evening Tech Bits
An Italian council has implemented a 200% tax on new data center developments in agricultural zones. This measure aims to encourage the utilization of existing industrial areas and mitigate environmental concerns.
Erin Brockovich launches a crowdsourced AI data center map
Erin Brockovich has initiated a crowdsourced project to map AI data centers, providing a platform for public concerns. This initiative aims to gather information and allow individuals to voice their opinions regarding the proliferation of AI data centers.
A single Nvidia Vera Rubin rack is estimated to cost $7,803,148 with over $2 million of that figure spent on memory…
A Morgan Stanley research report estimates that a single Nvidia Vera Rubin VR200 NVL72 rack costs approximately $7.8 million, with over $2 million attributed to memory. These costs are representative of what cloud service providers would pay, indicating a significant markup from Nvidia's internal build costs. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang predicts Vera Rubin will be more successful than their previous Grace Blackwell AI GPUs.
Nvidia continues to make astronomical amounts of money from AI, with the first quarter of 2026 being its biggest to date
Nvidia reported record revenue of $81.6 billion for the first quarter of 2026, driven primarily by its AI infrastructure business. The data center segment alone saw a 92% year-on-year increase, reaching $75.2 billion. CEO Jensen Huang highlighted the accelerating buildout of AI factories and the increasing value of Nvidia's AI platform.
Saturday Tech Bits
A Texas county has implemented a one-year ban on new data center construction in rural areas. This decision follows an increase in AI-focused data centers relocating to remote regions to bypass existing regulations.
Americans really don't want AI data centers close to their homes
Residents in America are expressing opposition to the construction of artificial intelligence data centers near their homes. This sentiment suggests that local community concerns, often referred to as NIMBYism, may hold valid points regarding the placement of such facilities.
Nvidia's solution to the AI energy problem is mini data centers next to local power substations and, of course,…
Nvidia is piloting a new solution to address the significant energy demands of artificial intelligence by deploying small data centers adjacent to local power substations in the USA. This strategy aims to balance power load across the grid, utilizing spare capacity from substations that would otherwise be insufficient for larger data centers. The initiative comes as data centers are projected to consume a substantial portion of US electricity generation by 2030.
Tech companies lobbied away stricter rules on gas-powered data centers
A corporate climate watchdog has withdrawn a proposed rule concerning clean energy certificates. This action follows lobbying efforts by tech companies regarding regulations for gas-powered data centers.
49,000 Lake Tahoe residents will lose power to data centers
NV Energy has informed residents that it will cease servicing them next year, impacting approximately 49,000 residents who will lose power to data centers. The specific reasons for the service discontinuation were not detailed in the announcement.
Elon Musk just can't stop (potentially) violating the Clean Air Act
xAI has reportedly installed 19 additional unpermitted methane gas turbines at its newest data center location. This action may potentially violate the Clean Air Act.
'We would need to shut off power for half the country': Microsoft's $1 billion Kenya data center project…
Microsoft's plans for a $1 billion data center in Kenya have stalled due to disagreements over annual payments between the company and the Kenyan government. While Microsoft and its partner G42 sought guaranteed annual payments, the government could not meet the requested amount. Despite the roadblock, Kenyan officials state that talks are ongoing and the project is not withdrawn, suggesting a need for further structuring of the data center's scale.
AI Yi-Yi!
NVIDIA's Vice President has admitted that the company's AI operational costs now surpass its expenditure on human employees, highlighting the escalating compute expenses within the industry. The article also touches upon an AI data center project that reportedly consumed 29 million gallons of water.
Saturday Tech Bits
A Maryland citizens group is challenging a $2 billion grid upgrade bill attributed to out-of-state AI data centers. Additionally, the release of TheA1200, a retro computer emulating the Commodore Amiga, has been delayed by approximately six months due to global supply chain issues.
If you're wondering where all the storage is going, it's landed in this 245 TB data center SSD from Micron
Micron has released the 6600 ION SSD, a 245 TB solid-state drive designed for data centers to support AI, cloud, and enterprise workloads. This drive offers significantly higher storage capacity and requires fewer racks compared to traditional HDD deployments, potentially reducing power and floor space requirements. The article also touches on the current memory crisis driven by AI data centers consuming vast amounts of storage modules.
