How some data center operators are tackling their water use problems
Ars Technica AI10 days agoBusinessArs Technica examines how hyperscalers and data center operators are facing pressure over water use. The issue centers on local water availability and quality as AI infrastructure expands. The provided excerpt says some operators are trying to address the problem, but does not specify companies, methods, or measured results.
ASRock Rack Unveils NVIDIA Vera CPU-Based AI Infrastructure at COMPUTEX 2026
INSIDE 硬塞 AI10 days agoHardwareASRock Rack announced a new AI infrastructure platform at COMPUTEX 2026 built around NVIDIA Vera CPU and optimized for agentic AI workloads. The lineup spans cloud-to-edge deployment scenarios, suggesting a broader infrastructure approach rather than a single server product. The company also integrates liquid cooling support for high-density deployments, targeting organizations with demanding AI compute and thermal requirements.
AI has a water problem. Google thinks it has a fix
The Verge AI11 days agoEthicsGoogle is responding to criticism of AI data center water use with a framework for replenishment, transparency, and site-specific cooling choices. Its commitments include returning more water than data centers consume by 2030, avoiding water-intensive cooling in stressed regions, funding local infrastructure, using alternatives like reclaimed wastewater, and annual disclosures. The core tension remains that saving water can increase electricity demand.
Astera Labs Expands Taiwan Operations and Ships Scorpio X Switch Chips
INSIDE 硬塞 AI11 days agoHardwareAstera Labs is expanding its Taiwan operations and cloud lab presence to deepen integration with local ecosystem partners. The company also says its Scorpio X switch chips are shipping, targeting interconnect bottlenecks in AI infrastructure. The announcement positions Taiwan as a key base for Astera Labs as it pursues the AI interconnect architecture market.
Microsoft Build: MAI-Thinking-1 and MAI Family Models★ 78
Latent Space11 days agoReleaseMicrosoft used Build to present itself as both an AI platform and a first-party model lab, announcing seven MAI models across reasoning, code, image, transcription, and voice. The standout was MAI-Thinking-1, described as a 35B active MoE with 256K context and clean data lineage. The recap also ties the launches to GitHub Copilot, Windows agent runtime ambitions, Web IQ grounding APIs, Foundry distribution, and MAIA 200 hardware.
Dow Unveils DOW Cooling Science at COMPUTEX TAIPEI 2026 for AI Thermal Management
INSIDE 硬塞 AI11 days agoHardwareDow presented its DOW™ Cooling Science platform at COMPUTEX TAIPEI 2026, highlighting high-performance silicone-based solutions. The platform targets thermal management challenges in AI data centers and advanced semiconductors as computing density rises. The announcement positions materials science as part of the broader AI infrastructure ecosystem, alongside industry collaboration under the “AI Together” theme.
Jensen Huang Calls Marvell the Next Trillion-Dollar Company at Computex
INSIDE 硬塞 AI12 days agoHardwareAt Computex, Marvell argued that connectivity is becoming a key bottleneck for AI infrastructure as systems scale. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang appeared at the event and described Marvell as the next trillion-dollar company. The presentation highlighted Marvell's AI connectivity stack, reflecting growing industry attention on the links supporting large-scale AI systems.
Alphabet plans to raise $80 billion to pay for AI buildout
TechCrunch AI12 days agoBusinessGoogle parent Alphabet plans to raise $80 billion by selling stock to pay for its AI buildout. The provided article text does not specify the offering timeline, pricing, allocation of proceeds, or the infrastructure projects involved. The key takeaway is the scale of capital Alphabet expects to commit to AI-related expansion.
NeuroWatt Unveils On-Premises AI Hardware-Software Solution at Computex
INSIDE 硬塞 AI13 days agoHardwareNeuroWatt plans to unveil an integrated enterprise AI solution at Computex 2026. The offering combines the NeuroTeam operating system with modular NeuroBrick NANO hardware for secure and controllable on-premises deployment. It is positioned as a one-stop platform for scaling enterprise AI, although the source does not disclose specifications, pricing, supported models, benchmarks, or customer deployments.
Erin Brockovich takes aim at data center secrecy
TechCrunch AI13 days agoEthicsEnvironmental activist Erin Brockovich has a new mission focused on data center secrecy. The supplied excerpt does not identify companies, facilities, locations, specific environmental concerns, or planned actions. The confirmed takeaway is limited: transparency around data centers has become a new focus of her environmental advocacy.
SoftBank says it will invest up to €75 billion to build French data centers
TechCrunch AI14 days agoBusinessSoftBank says it will invest up to €75 billion to build data centers in France. The stated goal is to develop and operate as much as 5 GW of additional capacity. The provided report does not specify locations, construction timelines, customers, energy sources, or how much capacity would support AI workloads.
Xcena raises $135M betting AI’s bottleneck is memory, not compute
TechCrunch AI16 days agoHardwareSouth Korean chip startup Xcena raised a $135 million Series B at a $570 million valuation, bringing total funding to $185 million. The company argues AI inference is increasingly constrained by memory movement, not just GPU compute. Its prototype MX1 chip uses CXL to process data closer to DRAM, with Samsung foundry mass production planned by late 2026 and revenue targeted for 2027.
Snowflake and AWS Expand AI Infrastructure Bet to $6B Over Five Years★ 72
INSIDE 硬塞 AI16 days agoBusinessSnowflake reported stronger-than-expected results and raised its annual product revenue forecast as enterprise demand grows. The company signed a five-year, $6 billion AI infrastructure agreement with AWS, expanding a previously smaller commitment. It also acquired Natoma to strengthen AI agent governance, positioning itself as a core enterprise AI platform.
Anthropic Series H Valuation Reaches $965B, Backed by Memory Giants★ 78
INSIDE 硬塞 AI16 days agoBusinessAnthropic completed a $65 billion Series H round, bringing its valuation to $965 billion and reportedly surpassing OpenAI. The round included strategic investments from memory makers Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix. The news highlights how frontier AI companies are increasingly tied to hardware and memory supply chains, as investors continue backing foundational model competition.
Just like gold and oil, we’ll soon be able to trade AI token futures
TechCrunch AI16 days agoBusinessTechCrunch reports that large exchanges are developing derivative products around AI tokens. The shift reflects a changing view of tokens: less as outputs from computation and more as input commodities, comparable to electricity or bandwidth. If these products emerge, AI token futures could let companies and investors manage exposure to future AI compute demand and pricing risk.
How long is Anthropic’s lease with SpaceX? Opinions vary.
TechCrunch AI17 days agoBusinessTechCrunch reports that Elon Musk is publicly recasting xAI’s large Anthropic compute deal as short-term and cancellable. However, SpaceX’s own S-1 filing describes payments continuing through May 2029. The discrepancy raises questions about the deal’s duration, financial commitment, and how AI infrastructure obligations are being presented publicly versus in formal disclosures.
Nvidia bets $150B on Taiwan as US AI hub plan backfires★ 72
Ars Technica AI17 days agoBusinessArs Technica reports that Nvidia will invest $150 billion annually to make Taiwan an AI “epicenter.” The headline frames the move against Trump’s effort to make the US an AI hub, suggesting the policy push may be backfiring. The provided source text does not specify investment targets, timeline, partners, or operational details, so the takeaway should remain focused on Nvidia’s strategic emphasis on Taiwan.
Jensen Huang Attends Groundbreaking for NVIDIA’s New Taiwan HQ in Beitou-Shilin
INSIDE 硬塞 AI18 days agoBusinessNVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang appeared at the site of the company’s planned new Taiwan headquarters in Beitou-Shilin. The building centers on a “transparent” design concept, using an all-glass curtain wall to symbolize trustworthiness. According to the report, construction is planned to begin by the end of 2026, with completion and opening expected in 2030.
Millions of AI agents imperiled by critical vulnerability in open source package★ 78
Ars Technica AI18 days agoIncidentArs Technica reports that Starlette, a Python package with about 325 million weekly downloads, has a critical vulnerability called BadHost. The flaw can let crafted Host headers confuse request.url.path, potentially bypassing middleware-based path authorization. AI infrastructure using FastAPI or Starlette, including vLLM, LiteLLM, MCP servers, LLM proxies, and agent frameworks, should upgrade Starlette and audit custom middleware.
Digital Infinite to Showcase AI-Stack and ixCSP at COMPUTEX 2026
INSIDE 硬塞 AI19 days agoBusinessDigital Infinite will exhibit AI-Stack and ixCSP at COMPUTEX 2026. AI-Stack focuses on managing heterogeneous AI compute resources, while ixCSP turns compute capacity into operable and billable cloud services. The article frames the company’s direction as moving from AI infrastructure toward cloud-based compute commercialization, though it does not provide benchmark data, pricing, customer deployments, or model-specific details.