Data Centers

Anthropic is rapidly expanding its compute infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific region to meet soaring demand for its AI models. The company is actively hiring data center professionals in Australia and Japan, focusing on engineering, operations, and deal sourcing. This strategic move underscores intense global competition for AI processing power and highlights Australia’s advantages for infrastructure development, including land, renewable energy, and political stability, while Japan offers a strong domestic AI focus and evolving grid. Securing adequate energy supply remains a key challenge across the region.

Amazon engineers who testified against AI data center expansion face internal scrutiny and potential disciplinary action, including termination, after speaking at a Seattle City Council meeting. The engineers, part of Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, allege intimidation and violation of a city ordinance protecting political advocacy. Amazon states employees must follow policy when speaking on behalf of the company, while refuting claims of retaliation. This situation highlights growing public and employee concerns over unchecked AI growth and its societal impacts.

Entergy CEO Drew Marsh addresses concerns about AI data centers straining residential power. He assures that data centers can be good neighbors, with Entergy’s “Fair Share Plus” model ensuring they fully cover incremental infrastructure and some fixed costs. This strategy projects $7 billion in savings for existing customers over 15-20 years, balancing AI growth with affordability.

Corning’s stock surged following a major data center agreement with Amazon, signaling strong demand for its optical fiber. This, along with significant deals from Meta and Nvidia, solidifies Corning’s critical role in the booming AI infrastructure and data center market. The company’s optical communications segment is experiencing substantial growth, driven by hyperscaler investments. These strategic partnerships ensure guaranteed revenue and align production with confirmed demand, positioning Corning for sustained long-term growth beyond its diversified glass manufacturing business.

Amazon is investing billions in optical fiber from Corning to power its U.S. data centers, driving the AI boom and creating 1,000 jobs in North Carolina. This multi-year agreement highlights the critical role of Corning’s fiber optics in AI infrastructure. The deal bolsters Corning’s manufacturing and training programs, underscoring its strategic importance as a key supplier for hyperscalers and AI labs.

SoftBank’s €75 billion AI infrastructure investment in France highlights the nation’s growing tech hub status. However, these data centers’ significant energy needs strain Europe’s grids. France’s nuclear power reliance offers a strategic advantage amid high industrial electricity prices. While SMRs show promise for data center power, widespread adoption faces challenges due to their developmental stage and lack of operational units outside China and Russia.

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son believes the AI revolution will be 50 times larger than the dot-com boom. SoftBank is investing 75 billion euros to build AI data center infrastructure in France, creating 5 gigawatts of capacity. Son likens AI’s impact to the dawn of the internet and sees potential market corrections as investment opportunities. SoftBank is also collaborating with OpenAI on the Stargate project and partnering with Schneider Electric for industrial production in Dunkirk.

Bloom Energy’s stock surged following a major partnership with AI cloud provider Nebius. Nebius will integrate Bloom Energy’s fuel cell technology into its U.S. data centers, addressing AI infrastructure’s power bottlenecks. This deal could be worth up to $2.6 billion for Bloom Energy over its lifespan. The collaboration aims to accelerate electricity generation for demanding AI workloads, ensuring high availability and meeting customer timelines.

The traditional university degree path is declining as skilled trades see significant wage growth, with some sectors up 30%. Driven by data center expansion for AI, demand for skilled trades like robotic technicians and HVAC engineers is soaring. AI also offers a wage premium for those with related skills, while uniquely human abilities like emotional intelligence and creativity are increasingly valued.

Blackstone is investing $5 billion in a new AI infrastructure venture, partnering with Google. This venture will utilize Google’s specialized Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) to meet surging AI compute demand. The company aims to deploy 500 megawatts of capacity by 2027 and plans significant expansion, strengthening Google’s position against competitors like Nvidia in the AI hardware race. Blackstone is also increasing its AI investments with other firms.