AI continues to reshuffle power and energy markets with even oil giants like Exxon Mobil getting into the mix. Exxon announced this week that it’s planning to build a power plant for data centers, reflecting just how much electricity tech companies expect they’ll need in the coming decade. According to one estimate, nearly half of […]
Exxon can’t resist the AI power gold rush Read More »
Lumen Orbit, a startup looking to build data centers in space, was able to close its recent seed round in mere days amid intense investor interest. The Redmond, Washington-based company closed on a $11 million seed round at a $40 million valuation, confirming prior TechCrunch reporting that the company had raised a competitive double-digit round
200 VCs wanted to get into Lumen Orbit’s $11M seed round Read More »
Nuclear power may have received the lion’s share of attention from energy hungry tech companies over the past few months, with Google among them. But it appears that those new reactors won’t be enough for their AI ambitions: Google is now working with partners to build gigawatts of renewable power, battery storage, and grid upgrades
Google kicks off $20B renewable energy building spree to power AI Read More »
As data center power demand surges, tech companies are looking for ways to trim electricity use wherever they can. Cooling is an obvious place to start, since it can account for around 40% of a data center’s energy consumption, according to McKinsey. Most data centers are cooled by blowing chilled air through their servers. The
Earlier this year, Meta tried to get its own nuclear powered data center the easy way, by building one next to an existing reactor. But after regulators threw cold water on the plan — the site was reportedly home to a rare bee species — the company is back with a new idea: find a
Meta jumps aboard the nuclear-powered data center bandwagon Read More »
It’s AWS re:Invent this week, Amazon’s annual cloud computing extravaganza in Las Vegas, and as is tradition, the company has so much to announce, it can’t fit everything into its five (!) keynotes. Ahead of the show’s official opening, AWS on Monday detailed a number of updates to its overall data center strategy that are
AWS bets on liquid cooling for its AI servers Read More »
President-elect Donald Trump made no secret during his campaigning that he doesn’t think the U.S. should take an aggressive stance on climate change. From leading chants of “drill, baby, drill” to frequently criticizing everything from wind turbines to electric vehicles, he appears poised to cast a shadow over the climate tech sector for the next
Climate VCs are cautiously optimistic about a second Trump term — here’s why Read More »
Italian energy giant Enel is placing a bet on small modular nuclear reactors through a partnership with Ansaldo, another Italian energy company, and Leonardo, a defense contractor. The new company is expected to be announced in the coming days. Enel already has a deal with small modular reactor startup Newcleo to develop so-called fourth-generation nuclear
Nuclear startups face new competition as energy giant Enel enters the ring Read More »
AI’s insatiable thirst for electricity is expected to surge in the coming years, potentially leading to power shortages for data centers. New servers last year demanded 195 terawatt-hours of electricity, according to a new report from Gartner. That’s as much as 18 million households use in a year. But by 2027, new servers could command
Nearly half of AI data centers may not have enough power by 2027 Read More »
Google might be lagging in its climate goals, but that isn’t stopping the tech giant from building a new AI-focused datacenter in fossil fuel-dependent Saudi Arabia. The new AI hub will support research into Arab language AI models and “Saudi-specific AI applications,” according to a an announcement from the Saudi Public Investment fund and Google.
Google is opening an AI hub in oil-rich Saudi Arabia Read More »
