From the archive
AI hardware provides the computing power, memory and networks used to train and run artificial intelligence models. Follow news on GPUs, AI accelerators, data centres, chip design and energy demand. Read how changes in infrastructure affect performance, availability and cost, and distinguish measured results from vendor claims about what the next generation of computing will deliver.
Lead story
AMD’s GAIA 0.25.0 release candidate brings a larger local model, a much leaner Windows desktop install and tighter checks around agent permissions and files. It is a substantial preview for testers, not the finished release, and several changes may require users to rebuild data after upgrading.
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Amazon is in talks to acquire Decart, an AI startup whose software helps developers switch between different AI chips, for around $7 billion, The Wall Street Journal reports. The reported deal puts a hefty price on a practical problem in AI computing: making software work across rival chips.
Watch Desk
A new analysis cited by Futurism projects a 44% increase in US gas-fired generator capacity over the next four years as electricity demand from data centres grows. The forecast points to a consequential trade-off: more power for AI infrastructure could mean a longer reliance on fossil fuels.
Watch Desk
Dumfries and Galloway Council says it will keep individual public representations on a proposed AI data centre near Chapelcross off its planning portal until the notification period ends. The plan is for a campus of roughly 1GW, and the dispute is now about both its scale and how…
Watch Desk
US data-centre construction grew 64.5% in the most recent year, while several other building categories declined, according to a Futurism article discussing figures from economist Jason Furman. The split puts a concrete number on how heavily the AI boom is shaping construction investment, and raises questions about what…
Watch Desk
Economist Paul Krugman argues that the vast sums going into AI data centres could support far fewer jobs than the same investment elsewhere, putting pressure on workers’ wages. His new essay sets out a striking estimate, but it is a counterfactual argument, not a prediction that millions of…
Watch Desk
Six-month-old chip startup Nuvacore is seeking hundreds of millions of dollars at a roughly $2.5bn valuation, despite not yet having a product. The reported fundraising is a striking bet on demand for data-centre CPUs as AI infrastructure expands, and on a design strategy that has yet to produce…
OpenAI Watch
Project Jupiter, a planned data-centre campus in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, is intended to supply AI infrastructure for OpenAI through Oracle. The proposed power supply is strikingly large: up to 2.45 gigawatts from fuel cells, supported by a proposed natural-gas pipeline.
Watch Desk
Opposition to a proposed Pennsylvania data centre has united residents across party lines and prompted the state to change how such projects are approved. The dispute shows how local resistance to AI infrastructure can move from protest to policy.
Watch Desk
AI is being sold as a tool for tackling climate change, while its data centres and fossil-fuel applications may be adding to the problem. An Inside Climate News report argues that the gap between those promises and AI’s current climate costs deserves closer scrutiny.
Nscale Watch
A grove of 200 blight-resistant American chestnut trees in West Virginia could be bulldozed for a planned hyperscale data centre, according to Futurism. The dispute puts a rare restoration site directly in the path of a proposed AI-computing build-out.
NVIDIA Watch
NVIDIA is widening its AI pitch beyond data centres: RTX Spark laptop pre-orders have opened ahead of an announced 16 October release, while the company has also committed $1 billion over five years to US scientific research. It is a bet on selling computing power both to people…
Watch Desk
AI data-centre growth in India is putting pressure on parts of the electricity system, with one regional grid upgrade estimate rising from ₹521 crore to about ₹688 crore. The Hindu reports that officials are also examining how data-centre demand could affect power supply and transmission.
Watch Desk
AI firms are scrambling to secure computing power, with established suppliers asking for multiyear contracts and some startups turning to less reliable providers. The squeeze is reshaping who can get the capacity to build and run AI systems, not merely how many data centres are announced.
Watch Desk
Jeff Bezos says AI-driven productivity could let some people support their families while working three days a week, and could make two-earner households less necessary. His forecast puts a provocative question on the table: if AI creates more economic output, who gets the time back?
NVIDIA Watch
Banks are exploring loans backed by Nvidia GPUs, insurers are weighing cover against falling chip values, and investors are edging towards trading contracts tied to compute prices. Business Insider describes a financial market taking shape around the hardware powering the AI boom, with Nvidia involved in some financing…
Submer Watch
Submer India and BSNL Tower Corporation Limited have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore AI-ready data-centre infrastructure in India. The plans cover GPU access, sovereign cloud and edge computing, but remain at the feasibility-study stage, not a build announcement.
Watch Desk
A contractor linked to Super Micro Computer has pleaded guilty to four counts in a case involving the alleged diversion of servers containing advanced Nvidia AI chips to China. The plea puts a concrete legal milestone in a case about controls on access to high-end AI computing hardware,…
AMD Watch
MangoBoost has launched Mango Inference, a pay-per-token service offering developers several open-weight AI models through one API endpoint, on AMD Instinct GPUs. The pitch is practical: switch models with a configuration change, rather than rebuilding the application around each provider.
