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India to Buy More US Oil, LNG to Avoid Tariffs

India has agreed to boost oil and gas imports from the US in an effort to reduce the trade imbalance between the two countries and avoid retaliatory tariffs. “I think we purchased about $15 billion in US energy output,” India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said during a media briefing in Washington on Thursday, after Prime […]

India has agreed to boost oil and gas imports from the US in an effort to reduce the trade imbalance between the two countries and avoid retaliatory tariffs.

“I think we purchased about $15 billion in US energy output,” India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said during a media briefing in Washington on Thursday, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met President Donald Trump. “There is a good chance that this figure will go up as much as $25 billion.”

Misri added that it was “entirely possible increased energy purchases will contribute to impacting the deficit between India and US.”

State-owned companies attending India’s biggest annual energy gathering this week have sounded a similar note, saying they would look to buy more US crude and LNG. Indian Oil Corp. is in talks with Cheniere Energy Inc. for a long-term LNG supply pact. Gail India Ltd has also revived plans to buy a stake in a liquefaction facility in the US, Chairman Sandeep Gupta said. 

In the leaders’ joint statement, Modi and Trump vowed to lift energy trade, “to establish the United States as a leading supplier of crude oil and petroleum products and liquefied natural gas to India” and to enhance investments in hydrocarbon infrastructure.

India was the top buyer of US crude in 2021, lifting some 406,000 barrels a day and accounting for 14.5 percent of total US exports, according to Kpler data. But that figure has since dropped. In the first 11 months of 2024, the US accounted for less than 5 percent of India’s total imports, as processors shunned traditional suppliers in favor of Russia’s discounted barrels. 

Since the US imposed tighter sanctions on Moscow’s hydrocarbon trade earlier this year, the world’s third-largest oil consumer is working to rebuild disrupted supply chains in an effort to keep discounted crude flowing. 

The US is India’s second-largest trading partner after China, with a total trade of $82.5 billion between April and November 2024. But India’s exports stood at $52.9 billion against a basket of imported goods worth $29.6 billion — a gap that may expose the country to retaliatory tariffs from the US administration. 

India’s initial optimism about the Trump presidency has been dampened by concerns over an impending trade war and immigration policies targeting its citizens. In the hope of avoiding trade restrictions, the government has offered concessions such as cutting import tariffs and phasing out additional levies on imports. 

Modi agreed to begin negotiations to address the US trade deficit, President Trump said on Thursday, while blaming New Delhi for the high duties which led the US to implementing retaliatory tariffs.

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Chevron executives see 2025 production growth nearing 8%

Executives of Chevron Corp., Houston, expect the company’s 2025 production growth, excluding former Hess operations, to be near the top of their guidance range of 6-8%, they said Oct. 31. Chevron’s total production for the 3 months that ended Sept. 30 totaled nearly 4.09 MMboe/d compared with 3.37 MMboe/d in

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Cisco unveils integrated edge platform for AI

Announced at Cisco’s Partner Summit, Unified Edge will likely be part of many third-party packages that can be configured in a variety of ways, Cisco stated. “The platform is customer definable. For example, if a customer has a workload and they’ve decided they want to use Nutanix, they can go

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Infoblox bolsters Universal DDI Platform with multi-cloud integrations

Universal DDI for Microsoft Management integration enables enterprises to gain control of their DNS and DHCP by centrally managing DNS and DHCP hosted on Microsoft server platforms. Integration with Google Cloud Internal Range applies consistent IPAM policies across Google Cloud, on-premises, and other cloud environments, which helps enterprise IT to

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Agentic AI: What now, what next?

Agentic AI burst onto the scene with its promises of streamliningoperations and accelerating productivity. But what’s real and what’s hype when it comes to deploying agentic AI? This Special Report examines the state of agentic AI, the challenges organizations are facing in deploying it, and the lessons learned from success

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Independent Report Identifies 13B Barrel Potential in Greenland Basin

In a statement posted on its website recently, 80 Mile Plc announced that an independent petroleum reserves and resources evaluation identified “13 billion barrel potential” at Jameson Land Basin in Greenland. “80 Mile plc … notes the recent announcement …  by its U.S. joint venture partner, March GL Company and Pelican, regarding the results of an independent assessment and prospective resources report prepared by Sproule ERCE confirming the world-class potential of the Jameson Land Basin, located in Eastern Greenland,” 80 Mile said in the statement. “Independent assessment by U.S. based oil field specialists, Sproule ERCE estimate 13.03 billion barrels (P10) of gross un-risked recoverable prospective oil resources across the upper levels of the Jameson Basin,” it added. “The report also highlights potential upside outside these already identified target areas, across the broader license and at depth. Specifically, the Permian base layer,” it continued. In the statement, 80 Mile highlighted that its attributable share equates to approximately 3.9 billion barrels (P10) based on its 30 percent interest post earn-in completion. The company also noted that the report “identifies 58 prospects and leads, putting Jameson among the most prospective undrilled basins globally”. 80 Mile pointed out in the statement that it and March GL had previously entered into a binding joint venture agreement for drilling to commence at Jameson. Under this agreement, March GL will fund 100 percent of the costs associated with up to two exploration wells, each to a minimum depth of 3,500 meters, designed to delineate the hydrocarbon potential of the Jameson Basin, 80 Mile noted in its latest statement. In return, March GL may earn up to a 70 percent working interest, with 80 Mile retaining a 30 percent interest through its wholly owned subsidiary White Flame Energy A/S upon completion of the second well, 80 Mile added. “Until that time, 80 Mile retains 100

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Shell posts $5.4 billion third-quarter earnings, topping forecasts

Shell plc reported stronger-than-expected third-quarter 2025 earnings on Oct. 30, buoyed by robust operations, higher trading contributions, and steady upstream performance in key regions. The oil major posted adjusted earnings of $5.4 billion, topping the company’s own forecast of $5.09 billion. The result compares with $6 billion in the same quarter a year earlier and $4.26 billion in second-quarter 2025. Cash flow from operations (CFFO) totaled $12.2 billion, down from $14.7 billion a year earlier. Cash capital expenditure was at $4.9 billion for the quarter. “Shell delivered another strong set of results, with clear progress across our portfolio and excellent performance in our Marketing business and deepwater assets in the Gulf of Mexico and Brazil,” said chief executive officer Wael Sawan, citing record output in Brazil and two-decade highs in the Gulf, along with the highest marketing earnings in more than a decade.  To sustain its shareholder returns, Shell noted another $3.5-billion share buyback program for the next 3 months; the 16th consecutive quarter of at least $3 billion in buybacks. The company also reduced its net debt to $41.2 billion, down from $43.2 billion in the previous quarter. Shell third-quarter operational highlights Adjusted earnings for Integrated Gas were $2.14 billion, higher than in $1.7 billion second-quarter 2025, reflecting higher volumes and significantly higher trading and optimization results. The company’s LNG Canada project ramped up, with 13 cargoes delivered from phase 1. Shell said it expects startup of the second phase later this quarter. Upstream delivered $1.8 billion in adjusted earnings, up from $1.7 billion in second-quarter 2025, reflecting higher volumes, partly offset by the rebalancing of participation interests in Brazil. Marketing contributed $ 1.32 billion in adjusted earnings, up from $1.2 billion in the previous quarter, benefiting from higher margins and seasonally higher volumes. Chemicals & Products reported $550 million

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ExxonMobil posts $7.5 billion for third-quarter earnings, output hits records

ExxonMobil Corp. announced third-quarter 2025 earnings of $7.5 billion, up from $7.1 billion for second-quarter 2025 but down from $8.6 billion for third-quarter 2024. Year-to-date earnings totaled $22.3 billion, down from $26.1 billion for the same period last year. Exxon noted that this drop in earnings from a year ago was primarily due to the lower oil price environment, with Brent crude averaging $68.20/bbl in the third quarter, a 13% decline compared to the same quarter last year. Exxon’s free cash flow for third-quarter 2025 was $6.3 billion, down from $11.3 billion in the same quarter last year. Shareholder distributions totaled $9.4 billion, including $4.2 billion of dividends and $5.1 billion of share repurchases, consistent with the company’s announced plans. Cash capital expenditures were $8.6 billion in the third quarter, including $2.4 billion in growth acquisitions.  However, higher oil and gas production partly offset the impact of lower oil prices. Third-quarter net production reached 4.8 MMboe/d, up from 4.6 MMboe/d a year ago, underpinned by record production from both the Permian basin and Guyana. In Guyana, Exxon broke records with quarterly production surpassing 700,000 b/d and started up the Yellowtail development 4 months early and under budget. In the Permian, the company also set production record of nearly 1.7 MMboe/d, while continuing to expand the use of proprietary technologies like its lightweight proppant that improves well recoveries by up to 20%. The company acquired more than 80,000 additional net acres in the Permian basin from Sinochem Petroleum in the third quarter. “The transaction provides opportunities to further deploy the company’s innovative technology, leading to greater returns,” said Darren Woods, ExxonMobil chairman and chief executive officer. Meantime, Exxon has now started up eight of its 10 key 2025 projects, with the remaining 2 on track. “No one else in our industry

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ADIPEC 2025: $4-trillion investment needed to meet data-driven ‘energy addition’

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) managing director and group chief executive officer Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber used the opening ceremony of the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference (ADIPEC) to emphasize his vision of the ‘energy addition’ currently underway. Energy demand will keep growing, Al Jaber said, driven by a fourfold expansion in power for data centers by 2040. As part of this expansion, he projects renewable energy to more than double, LNG use to increase by 50%, and the amount of jet fuel needed to grow by 30% as the global airline fleet grows from 25,000 aircraft to 50,000. Al Jaber indicated that global oil demand will remain above 100 million b/d for the time being as growing use for it as a feedstock for petrochemicals and other materials picks up any slack created by its diminished use for mobility. In a meeting preceding ADIPEC, discussion focused on the continued need for hydrocarbon molecules to create the electrons to power artificial intelligence, Al Jaber said, noting that the infrastructure was still way behind, with at least 6 million km of new power transmission lines needed by 2040. He pegged the capital investment needed to meet this rising energy demand at $4 trillion and pointed to the need to free up dormant capital tied up in existing energy capacity as a key part of meeting the new demand. “It’s not only about oil or gas,” said Al Jaber. “There is a requirement for more…definitely more oil, definitely more gas, definitely more renewable energy, and we need to make sure that the environment for investment is allowed” to meet this demand.   

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SM, Civitas joining forces to create Top-10 independent

The directors of SM Energy Co. and Civitas Resources Inc. have agreed to merge the two companies and create a top-10 independent company that will produce more than 500,000 boe/d from four US basins. The companies’ deal calls for Civitas shareholders to receive SM stock worth roughly $2.7 billion early next year. SM chief executive officer Herb Vogel will be the combined company’s leader before handing the reins to Beth McDonald—a transition plan SM announced 2 months ago (OGJ Online, Sept. 8, 2025)—at the beginning of March. In a statement accompanying the Nov. 3 news, McDonald said the planned merger—which had been rumored for several weeks—“establishes a company with transformative scale in the highest-return US shale basins.” The combined company’s production in the second quarter would have been 526,000 boe/d, nearly half of which came from the Permian basin. Assets in Denver-Julesburg basin (28%), South Texas (15%), and Uinta basin (9%) would have rounded out the combined company’s output. Civitas leaders under the direction of interim chief executive officer Wouter van Kempen—who was appointed 3 months ago when the company’s board pushed aside Chris Doyle (OGJ Online, Aug. 7, 2025)—had committed to improving the company’s operational efficiency and rallying its poor share performance. Asked on a conference call why Civitas’ directors struck the SM deal, van Kempen was matter-of-fact. “In the end, you can never time deals in a perfect way and you never know what shows up at what time,” van Kempen said. “In the end, this is the right time do this. This is the right opportunity. This makes both companies a lot stronger.” Investors appeared less than thrilled about the deal news: Around 12 p.m. noon US Central Time Nov. 3, shares of Civitas (Ticker: CIVI) were essentially flat while those of SM (Ticker: SM) were down

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OPEC+ to pause oil production hikes for first-quarter 2026

OPEC+ has decided to slightly increase oil production in December, while suspending any further increases in first-quarter 2026. This decision comes as the organization reassesses its strategy to regain market share amid growing concerns about a potential supply glut. During the monthly meeting held Nov. 2, the eight OPEC+ members involved—Saudi Arabia, Russia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Kazakhstan, and Algeria—agreed to raise December output targets by 137,000 b/d, consistent with the increases made in October and November. “Beyond December, due to seasonality, the eight countries also decided to pause the production increments in January, February, and March 2026,” the group said in a statement. Refineries typically undergo maintenance after the holiday season, resulting in weaker oil demand in the first quarter. “Like in the group’s recent meetings, this round also offered a surprise: That came from its decision to pause any production increases during  first-quarter 2026. This is the first time since April 2025 that the group will not raise output,” said Jorge León, Head of Geopolitical Analysis from Rystad Energy. “Yes, OPEC+ is blinking, but it’s a calculated move. Sanctions on Russian producers have injected a new layer of uncertainty into supply forecasts, and the group knows that overproducing now could backfire later. By pausing, OPEC+ is protecting prices, projecting unity, and buying time to see how sanctions play out on Russian barrels,” said León. According to Rystad, for the Kremlin, staying composed and signaling control remains central to its strategy. Since any effect on Russian output will take time to emerge—and with Moscow intent on demonstrating stability—it supported another small OPEC+ production increase. Updated liquids balances from Rystad indicate that, even if OPEC+ halts output hikes in first-quarter 2026, the market would still face a sizable surplus of about 3.5 million b/d. Such an

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NVIDIA at GTC 2025: Building the AI Infrastructure of Everything

Omniverse DSX Blueprint Unveiled Also at the conference, NVIDIA released a blueprint for how other firms should build massive, gigascale AI data centers, or AI factories, in which Oracle, Microsoft, Google, and other leading tech firms are investing billions. The most powerful and efficient of those, company representatives said, will include NVIDIA chips and software. A new NVIDIA AI Factory Research Center in Virginia will use that technology. This new “mega” Omniverse DSX Blueprint is a comprehensive, open blueprint for designing and operating gigawatt-scale AI factories. It combines design, simulation, and operations across factory facilities, hardware, and software. • The blueprint expands to include libraries for building factory-scale digital twins, with Siemens’ Digital Twin software first to support the blueprint and FANUC and Foxconn Fii first to connect their robot models. • Belden, Caterpillar, Foxconn, Lucid Motors, Toyota, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), and Wistron build Omniverse factory digital twins to accelerate AI-driven manufacturing. • Agility Robotics, Amazon Robotics, Figure, and Skild AI build a collaborative robot workforce using NVIDIA’s three-computer architecture. NVIDIA Quantum Gains  And then there’s quantum computing. It can help data centers become more energy-efficient and faster with specific tasks such as optimization and AI model training. Conversely, the unique infrastructure needs of quantum computers, such as power, cooling, and error correction, are driving the development of specialized quantum data centers. Huang said it’s now possible to make one logical qubit, or quantum bit, that’s coherent, stable, and error corrected.  However, these qubits—the units of information enabling quantum computers to process information in ways ordinary computers can’t—are “incredibly fragile,” creating a need for powerful technology to do quantum error correction and infer the qubit’s state. To connect quantum and GPU computing, Huang announced the release of NVIDIA NVQLink — a quantum‑GPU interconnect that enables real‑time CUDA‑Q calls from quantum

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The Evolution of the Neocloud: From Niche to Mainstream Hyperscale Challenger

Infrastructure and Supply Chain Race Cloud competition is increasingly defined by the ability to secure power, land, and chips— three resources that dictate project timelines and customer onboarding. Neoclouds and hyperscalers face a common set of constraints: local utility availability, substation interconnection bottlenecks, and fierce competition for high-density GPU inventory. Power stands as the gating factor for expansion, often outpacing even chip shortages in severity. Facilities are increasingly being sited based on access to dedicated, reliable megawatt-scale electricity, rather than traditional latency zones or network proximity. AI growth forecasts point to four key ceilings: electrical capacity, chip procurement cycles, latency wall between computation and data, and scalable data throughput for model training. With hyperscaler and neocloud deployments now competing for every available GPU from manufacturers, deployment agility has become a prime differentiator. Neoclouds distinguish themselves by orchestrating microgrid agreements, securing direct-source utility contracts, and compressing build-to-operational timelines. Converting a bare site to a functional data hall with operators that can viably offer a shortened deployment timeline gives neoclouds a material edge over traditional hyperscale deployments that require broader campus and network-level integration cycles. The aftereffects of the COVID era supply chain disruptions linger, with legacy operators struggling to source critical electrical components, switchgear, and transformers, sometimes waiting more than a year for equipment. As a result, neocloud providers have moved aggressively into site selection strategies, regional partnerships, and infrastructure stack integration to hedge risk and shorten delivery cycles. Microgrid solutions and island modes for power supply are increasingly utilized to ensure uninterrupted access to electricity during ramp-up periods and supply chain outages, fundamentally rebalancing the competitive dynamics of AI infrastructure deployment. Creditworthiness, Capital, and Risk Management Securing capital remains a decisive factor for the growth and sustainability of neoclouds. Project finance for campus-scale deployments hinges on demonstrable creditworthiness; lenders demand

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Canyon Magnet Energy: The Superconducting Future of Powering AI Data Centers

At this year’s Data Center Frontier Trends Summit, Honghai Song, founder of Canyon Magnet Energy, presented his company’s breakthrough superconducting magnet technology during the “6 Moonshot Trends for the 2026 Data Center Frontier” panel—showcasing how high-temperature superconductors (HTS) could reshape both fusion energy and AI data-center power systems. In this episode of the Data Center Frontier Show, Editor in Chief Matt Vincent speaks with Song about how Canyon Magnet Energy—founded in 2023 and based in New Jersey with research roots at Stony Brook University—is bridging fusion research and AI infrastructure through next-generation magnet and energy-storage technology. From Fusion Research to Data Center Reality Founded in 2023, Canyon Magnet Energy emerged from the advanced-magnet research ecosystem around Stony Brook and now operates a manufacturing line in Newark, New Jersey. Its team draws on decades of experience designing the ultra-strong magnetic fields that enable the confinement and stability of fusion plasma—but their ambitions go far beyond the laboratory. “Super magnets are the foundation of fusion,” Song explains in the interview. “But the same high-temperature superconductors that can make fusion practical can also dramatically improve how we move and store electricity in data centers.” The company’s magnets are built using REBCO (Rare Earth Barium Copper Oxide) tape, which operates at around 77 Kelvin—cold, but far warmer and more manageable than traditional low-temperature superconductors. The result is a zero-resistance pathway for electricity, unlocking new possibilities in power transmission, energy storage, and grid integration. Why High-Temperature Superconductors Matter Since their discovery in 1986, high-temperature superconductors have progressed from exotic physics experiments to industrial-scale wire and magnet manufacturing. Canyon Magnet Energy is among a new generation of companies moving this technology into the AI data-center context—where efficiency and instantaneous power responsiveness are increasingly critical. With AI training clusters consuming power at hundreds of megawatts per campus,

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OpenAI spends even more money it doesn’t have

The aim, said Gogia, “is continuity, not cost efficiency. These deals are forward leaning, relying on revenue forecasts that remain speculative. In that context, OpenAI must continue to draw heavily on outside capital, whether through venture rounds, debt, or a future public offering.” He pointed out, “the company’s recent legal and corporate restructuring was designed to open the doors to that capital. Removing Microsoft’s exclusivity makes room for more vendors but also signals that no one provider can meet OpenAI’s demands. In several cases, suppliers are stepping in with financing arrangements that link product sales to future performance. While these strategies help close funding gaps, they introduce fragility. What looks like revenue is often pre-paid consumption, not realized margin.” Execution risks, he said, add to the concern. “Building and energizing enough data centers to meet OpenAI’s projected needs is not a function of ambition alone. It requires grid access, cooling capacity, and regional stability. Microsoft has acknowledged that it lacks the power infrastructure to fully deploy the GPUs it owns. Without physical readiness, all of these agreements sit on shaky ground.” Lots of equity swapping going on Scott Bickley, advisory fellow at Info-Tech Research Group, said he has not only been astounded by the funding announcements over the last few months, but is also appalled, primarily, he said, “because of the disconnect to what this does to the underlying technology stocks and their market prices versus where the technology is at from a development and ROI perspective … and from a boots on the ground perspective.” He added that while the financial pledges involve “huge, staggering numbers, most of them are tied up in ways that are not necessarily going to require all the cash to come from OpenAI. In a lot of cases, there is equity swapping. You have

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Verizon to build high-capacity fiber network to link AWS AI data centers

“AI will be essential to the future of business and society, driving innovation that demands a network to match,” Scott Lawrence, senior vice president and chief product officer at Verizon Business said in a statement. “This deal with Amazon demonstrates our continued commitment to meet the growing demands of AI workloads for the businesses and developers building our future.” This is not the first time that two companies have partnered. Verizon has previously adopted AWS as a preferred public cloud provider for its digital transformation efforts. The collaboration also extends to joint development of private mobile edge computing solutions, delivering secure, dedicated connectivity for enterprise customers. These efforts have been targeted at industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, retail, and entertainment.

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Supermicro Unveils Data Center Building Blocks to Accelerate AI Factory Deployment

Supermicro has introduced a new business line, Data Center Building Block Solutions (DCBBS), expanding its modular approach to data center development. The offering packages servers, storage, liquid-cooling infrastructure, networking, power shelves and battery backup units (BBUs), DCIM and automation software, and on-site services into pre-validated, factory-tested bundles designed to accelerate time-to-online (TTO) and improve long-term serviceability. This move represents a significant step beyond traditional rack integration; a shift toward a one-stop, data-center-scale platform aimed squarely at the hyperscale and AI factory market. By providing a single point of accountability across IT, power, and thermal domains, Supermicro’s model enables faster deployments and reduces integration risk—the modern equivalent of a “single throat to choke” for data center operators racing to bring GB200/NVL72-class racks online. What’s New in DCBBS DCBBS extends Supermicro’s modular design philosophy to an integrated catalog of facility-adjacent building blocks, not just IT nodes. By including critical supporting infrastructure—cooling, power, networking, and lifecycle software—the platform helps operators bring new capacity online more quickly and predictably. According to Supermicro, DCBBS encompasses: Multi-vendor AI system support: Compatibility with NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel architectures, featuring Supermicro-designed cold plates that dissipate up to 98% of component-level heat. In-rack liquid-cooling designs: Coolant distribution manifolds (CDMs) and CDUs rated up to 250 kW, supporting 45 °C liquids, alongside rear-door heat exchangers, 800 GbE switches (51.2 Tb/s), 33 kW power shelves, and 48 V battery backup units. Liquid-to-Air (L2A) sidecars: Each row can reject up to 200 kW of heat without modifying existing building hydronics—an especially practical design for air-to-liquid retrofits. Automation and management software: SuperCloud Composer for rack-scale and liquid-cooling lifecycle management SuperCloud Automation Center for firmware, OS, Kubernetes, and AI pipeline enablement Developer Experience Console for self-service workflows and orchestration End-to-end services: Design, validation, and on-site deployment options—including four-hour response service levels—for both greenfield builds

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Microsoft will invest $80B in AI data centers in fiscal 2025

And Microsoft isn’t the only one that is ramping up its investments into AI-enabled data centers. Rival cloud service providers are all investing in either upgrading or opening new data centers to capture a larger chunk of business from developers and users of large language models (LLMs).  In a report published in October 2024, Bloomberg Intelligence estimated that demand for generative AI would push Microsoft, AWS, Google, Oracle, Meta, and Apple would between them devote $200 billion to capex in 2025, up from $110 billion in 2023. Microsoft is one of the biggest spenders, followed closely by Google and AWS, Bloomberg Intelligence said. Its estimate of Microsoft’s capital spending on AI, at $62.4 billion for calendar 2025, is lower than Smith’s claim that the company will invest $80 billion in the fiscal year to June 30, 2025. Both figures, though, are way higher than Microsoft’s 2020 capital expenditure of “just” $17.6 billion. The majority of the increased spending is tied to cloud services and the expansion of AI infrastructure needed to provide compute capacity for OpenAI workloads. Separately, last October Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said his company planned total capex spend of $75 billion in 2024 and even more in 2025, with much of it going to AWS, its cloud computing division.

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John Deere unveils more autonomous farm machines to address skill labor shortage

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More Self-driving tractors might be the path to self-driving cars. John Deere has revealed a new line of autonomous machines and tech across agriculture, construction and commercial landscaping. The Moline, Illinois-based John Deere has been in business for 187 years, yet it’s been a regular as a non-tech company showing off technology at the big tech trade show in Las Vegas and is back at CES 2025 with more autonomous tractors and other vehicles. This is not something we usually cover, but John Deere has a lot of data that is interesting in the big picture of tech. The message from the company is that there aren’t enough skilled farm laborers to do the work that its customers need. It’s been a challenge for most of the last two decades, said Jahmy Hindman, CTO at John Deere, in a briefing. Much of the tech will come this fall and after that. He noted that the average farmer in the U.S. is over 58 and works 12 to 18 hours a day to grow food for us. And he said the American Farm Bureau Federation estimates there are roughly 2.4 million farm jobs that need to be filled annually; and the agricultural work force continues to shrink. (This is my hint to the anti-immigration crowd). John Deere’s autonomous 9RX Tractor. Farmers can oversee it using an app. While each of these industries experiences their own set of challenges, a commonality across all is skilled labor availability. In construction, about 80% percent of contractors struggle to find skilled labor. And in commercial landscaping, 86% of landscaping business owners can’t find labor to fill open positions, he said. “They have to figure out how to do

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2025 playbook for enterprise AI success, from agents to evals

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More 2025 is poised to be a pivotal year for enterprise AI. The past year has seen rapid innovation, and this year will see the same. This has made it more critical than ever to revisit your AI strategy to stay competitive and create value for your customers. From scaling AI agents to optimizing costs, here are the five critical areas enterprises should prioritize for their AI strategy this year. 1. Agents: the next generation of automation AI agents are no longer theoretical. In 2025, they’re indispensable tools for enterprises looking to streamline operations and enhance customer interactions. Unlike traditional software, agents powered by large language models (LLMs) can make nuanced decisions, navigate complex multi-step tasks, and integrate seamlessly with tools and APIs. At the start of 2024, agents were not ready for prime time, making frustrating mistakes like hallucinating URLs. They started getting better as frontier large language models themselves improved. “Let me put it this way,” said Sam Witteveen, cofounder of Red Dragon, a company that develops agents for companies, and that recently reviewed the 48 agents it built last year. “Interestingly, the ones that we built at the start of the year, a lot of those worked way better at the end of the year just because the models got better.” Witteveen shared this in the video podcast we filmed to discuss these five big trends in detail. Models are getting better and hallucinating less, and they’re also being trained to do agentic tasks. Another feature that the model providers are researching is a way to use the LLM as a judge, and as models get cheaper (something we’ll cover below), companies can use three or more models to

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OpenAI’s red teaming innovations define new essentials for security leaders in the AI era

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More OpenAI has taken a more aggressive approach to red teaming than its AI competitors, demonstrating its security teams’ advanced capabilities in two areas: multi-step reinforcement and external red teaming. OpenAI recently released two papers that set a new competitive standard for improving the quality, reliability and safety of AI models in these two techniques and more. The first paper, “OpenAI’s Approach to External Red Teaming for AI Models and Systems,” reports that specialized teams outside the company have proven effective in uncovering vulnerabilities that might otherwise have made it into a released model because in-house testing techniques may have missed them. In the second paper, “Diverse and Effective Red Teaming with Auto-Generated Rewards and Multi-Step Reinforcement Learning,” OpenAI introduces an automated framework that relies on iterative reinforcement learning to generate a broad spectrum of novel, wide-ranging attacks. Going all-in on red teaming pays practical, competitive dividends It’s encouraging to see competitive intensity in red teaming growing among AI companies. When Anthropic released its AI red team guidelines in June of last year, it joined AI providers including Google, Microsoft, Nvidia, OpenAI, and even the U.S.’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which all had released red teaming frameworks. Investing heavily in red teaming yields tangible benefits for security leaders in any organization. OpenAI’s paper on external red teaming provides a detailed analysis of how the company strives to create specialized external teams that include cybersecurity and subject matter experts. The goal is to see if knowledgeable external teams can defeat models’ security perimeters and find gaps in their security, biases and controls that prompt-based testing couldn’t find. What makes OpenAI’s recent papers noteworthy is how well they define using human-in-the-middle

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