According to The Economist, Saudi Arabia is leveraging its vast desert and cheap solar energy to build the world’s most affordable data centers for AI. The Al Shuaiba solar farm south of Jeddah produces power at a fraction of the cost seen in places like the UK.
A new report funded by Amazon argues its massive data centers are net-positive for local utilities, even lowering costs for other customers. But independent analysis warns that unconstrained growth could still lead to major rate hikes for everyone.
A startup founded by Robinhood’s Baiju Bhatt is making a huge bet on orbital data centers for AI. The company, Aetherflux, says its first “Galactic Brain” satellite will be commercially operational by Q1 2027. It’s a radical plan to bypass Earth’s energy and logistics bottlenecks.
Meta has launched an Instagram app exclusively for Amazon Fire TV devices. The app is focused solely on Reels and is currently in a testing phase in the United States.
Global data center electricity demand is projected to more than double in five years, consuming as much as Japan by 2030. AI alone could account for nearly half of that power this year, forcing a major rethink of how we store data.
Pakistani telco Zong, owned by China Mobile, has opened a new cloud-focused data center in Islamabad. The move is a direct part of China’s Digital Silk Road infrastructure push. It signals growing, if still nascent, data center investment in Pakistan.
Oracle’s massive investment in AI infrastructure has turned its free cash flow from a $2 billion deficit to a $10 billion shortfall in just one quarter. Analysts warn this creates structural pressure that will likely lead to higher costs for enterprise customers.
Research firm Omdia predicts data center capital expenditure could reach $1.6 trillion by 2030 in its likeliest scenario. The forecast comes amid growing skepticism from CEOs about the return on investment for the AI compute buildout.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced a massive $17.5 billion investment in India’s cloud and AI infrastructure. The plan includes building its largest hyperscale data center region in Hyderabad and training 20 million people in AI skills by 2030.
The explosive growth of data centers, especially for AI, is causing a major power crisis. Grid operators are scrambling as electricity prices soar and reliability is threatened, leading to radical new strategies from utilities and tech giants alike.
