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Last Energy to Deploy 30 Microreactors in Texas for Data Centers

As the demand for data center power surges in Texas, nuclear startup Last Energy has now announced plans to build 30 microreactors in the state’s Haskell County near the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The reactors will serve a growing customer base of data center operators in the region looking for reliable, carbon-free energy. The plan marks Last […]

As the demand for data center power surges in Texas, nuclear startup Last Energy has now announced plans to build 30 microreactors in the state’s Haskell County near the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The reactors will serve a growing customer base of data center operators in the region looking for reliable, carbon-free energy. The plan marks Last Energy’s largest project to date and a significant step in advancing modular nuclear power as a viable solution for high-density computing infrastructure.

Meeting the Looming Power Demands of Texas Data Centers

Texas is already home to over 340 data centers, with significant expansion underway. Google is increasing its data center footprint in Dallas, while OpenAI’s Stargate has announced plans for a new facility in Abilene, just an hour south of Last Energy’s planned site. The company notes the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area alone is projected to require an additional 43 gigawatts of power in the coming years, far surpassing current grid capacity.

To help remediate, Last Energy has secured a 200+ acre site in Haskell County, approximately three and a half hours west of Dallas. The company has also filed for a grid connection with ERCOT, with plans to deliver power via a mix of private wire and grid transmission. Additionally, Last Energy has begun pre-application engagement with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for an Early Site Permit, a key step in securing regulatory approval.

According to Last Energy CEO Bret Kugelmass, the company’s modular approach is designed to bring nuclear energy online faster than traditional projects. “Nuclear power is the most effective way to meet Texas’ growing energy demand, but it needs to be deployed faster and at scale,” Kugelmass said. “Our microreactors are designed to be plug-and-play, enabling data center operators to bypass the constraints of an overloaded grid.”

Scaling Nuclear for Digital Infrastructure

This project follows Last Energy’s expansion into Europe, where the company has agreements to deliver 39 microreactors to data centers. Texas marks the company’s first major U.S. deployment, positioning nuclear as a key player in data center energy strategies.

Last Energy’s modular microreactors offer several advantages:

  • Faster deployment: Units can be delivered within 24 months, compared to the decade-long timeline of conventional nuclear plants.
  • Scalability: Facilities can expand incrementally to meet growing energy demand without requiring massive upfront infrastructure investments.
  • Grid independence: Private-wire options allow data centers to sidestep grid constraints and price volatility while adding local energy capacity.

Leading up to the present announcment, the company has already demonstrated its technology in Texas. In June 2023, Last Energy fabricated a full-scale, nine-module prototype. By February 2025, the company co-founded the Texas Nuclear Alliance, a coalition aimed at accelerating nuclear deployment in the state.

The Role of Nuclear in Texas’ Energy Future

Texas has long been a leader in energy production, but its power grid has struggled to keep pace with demand. The state’s rapid population growth and industrial expansion—especially in power-intensive sectors like AI and cloud computing—have exposed vulnerabilities in ERCOT’s ability to deliver consistent electricity.

Traditionally, Texas has relied on a mix of natural gas, wind, and solar to meet its growing power needs. However, wind and solar face certain intermittency issues, while natural gas prices remain volatile. Nuclear power provides a stable, zero-carbon alternative, yet the U.S. has traditionally been slow to approve new nuclear developments. That, of course, is changing, as evidenced by moves such as last year’s ADVANCE Act, intended to boost nuclear reactor deployment across the country, explicitly involving microreactor technologies.

Microreactors like Last Energy’s PWR-20 are designed to bypass many of the regulatory and construction bottlenecks that have historically delayed nuclear projects. By shifting nuclear from a large-scale construction project to a mass-manufactured product, Last Energy is positioning its technology as a key enabler of Texas’ digital economy.

A Model for the Future of Energy and Data Centers

With Texas aiming to become both a global data center hub and a leader in next-generation nuclear energy, Last Energy’s project represents a crucial test case. If successful, it could serve as a model for deploying microreactors across the U.S. to support industrial-scale energy users.

The company’s decision to develop this project using purely private financing also underscores the commercial viability of small-scale nuclear solutions. By aligning with data center operators—one of the fastest-growing power consumers in the world—Last Energy is not only addressing an urgent industry need but also demonstrating a pathway for scaling nuclear in the U.S.

With site control secured, regulatory engagement underway, and commercial demand accelerating, moves such as Last Energy’s bet on nuclear-powered data centers could reshape the energy landscape for high-density computing.

In the video below, Last Energy’s SVP, Commercial, Michael Crabb, explains the company’s modular microreactor platform to attendees of Data Center World 2023.

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ServiceNow to pay $2.85B for Moveworks’ AI tools

ServiceNow and Moveworks will deliver a unified, end‑to‑end search and self‑service experience for all employee requestors across every workflow, according to ServiceNow. A majority of Moveworks’ current customer deployments already use ServiceNow in their environments to access enterprise AI, data, and workflows. ServiceNow said this acquisition will build upon the

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Trump extends tariff pause to all USMCA goods

The White House announced Thursday afternoon that it will suspend tariffs on all imports that are compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement until April 2. The pause, which was extended to imports from Mexico that adhered to the USMCA earlier Thursday, will now also cover goods from Canada that meet

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Shell CEO Wael Sawan reaffirms strong commitment to LNG at CERAWeek

He emphasized that natural gas, with its lower carbon intensity compared to coal and oil, holds a strategic advantage in the energy transition, helping countries reduce emissions while maintaining a stable energy supply. AI as energy demand driver  Sawan also highlighted the impact of AI on energy markets, calling it a key factor in driving future demand. AI’s growing use in data centers, infrastructure, and advanced technologies is increasing the need for reliable and scalable energy sources — a significant portion of which is expected to come from LNG. AI is not only driving energy consumption but also helping to improve infrastructure and operational efficiency, he said.  Energy trading  Sawan reinforced Shell’s strength as a global energy trader, noting that the company’s diversified portfolio and extensive network of partners give it the ability to offer customers flexible and reliable supply options. “Trading is at the core of Shell’s business,” Sawan stated.  European energy challenges  Turning to Europe, Sawan addressed the complexities of the EU’s energy transition, noting that the strength of the Union — with its many member countries — can also create challenges and obstacles. He observed that varying priorities across member states have slowed the pace of progress. Sawan hope that European leaders will avoid overregulation and instead focus on enhancing competitiveness. Multi-scenario approach  Sawan highlighted Shell’s strategic decision-making approach, which prioritizes examining multiple scenarios rather than depending on a single forecast. This adaptability enables the company to respond more effectively to market fluctuations and technological advancements. He noted that “AI is at the forefront of our considerations” among the various scenarios.

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Insights: 2025 hydraulic fracturing conference takeaways (Part II)

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Trump revokes Chevron’s Venezuelan oil-export license

US President Donald Trump will revoke a license that allowed Chevron to extract and export a limited amount of oil and oil products from Venezuela to the US, the US Treasury Department said Mar. 2. “Treasury is preparing to take action to wind-down General License 41 and other specific licenses as appropriate,” the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) said in a brief statement, adding that it would issue additional guidance on implementation. Trump made the announcement on Truth Social Feb. 28, writing that Caracas had not transported “violent criminals” deported from the US quickly enough.  The revoked license could drive down production, exacerbating Venezuela’s decade-long economic woes. Chevron exports about 240,000 b/d of crude from its Venezuelan operations. If Venezuela’s state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) were to take over those exports, US refineries could not purchase the oil because of US sanctions. The US has levied sanctions on Venezuela for more than 15 years. In 2019, President Trump issued an executive order to sanction foreign energy companies working with PDVSA after Maduro’s reelection victory, which US and other Western governments rejected as fraudulent. The Biden administration in 2022 issued the license permitting Chevron to operate joint ventures with PDVSA despite the sanctions. The license barred the US oil major from paying taxes or royalties to the Venezuelan government (OGJ Online, Dec. 5, 2022). While Biden suspended sanctions on exports of Venezuelan oil and investments in the country’s oil and gas sector in November 2023, he reimposed them in April 2023, citing Caracas’ lack of progress in meeting election-reform commitments (OGJ Online, Nov. 6, 2023). The Chevron license stayed in place, along with US authorizations granted to several other foreign oil companies. The White House and Treasury did not specify whether the other authorizations would remain. While

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Congress kills Biden-era methane fee

The Republican-controlled Congress voted along party lines to kill a federal fee on oil and gas producers that release high levels of methane.  The Waste Emissions Charge (WEC), part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, was central to former President Joe Biden’s efforts to combat climate change.  The Senate voted 52-47 to repeal the fee Feb. 28, following a 220-206-1 House vote Feb. 26. President Donald Trump is expected to sign the resolution to eliminate the WEC, which started at $900/metric ton and was supposed to increase to $1,200/ton in 2025, and $1,500/ton for 2026 and beyond to incentivize companies to repair and prevent methane leaks. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the waning months of the Biden administration finalized the methane fee on oil and gas operations that release more than 25,000 tons/year of CO2 equivalent (OGJ Online, Nov. 14, 2024).  The timing made it subject to the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which allows Congress to pass a resolution to undo rules finalized in the last few months of a president’s term. If those resolutions pass and the president signs them, the rule is terminated and agencies cannot reissue a similar rule.  While most major oil and gas companies do not release enough to trigger the fee, EPA estimated that the rule would have resulted in cumulative emissions reductions of 1.2 million metric tons of methane (34 million metric tons CO2-equivalent) and over $550 billion in revenues to the US government (OGJ Online, Jan. 16, 2024). 

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Venture Global starts preparing third phase of Plaquemines

Venture Global Inc., Arlington, Va., has submitted a request to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to expand its Plaquemines LNG plant with a third phase that would add 24 liquefaction trains and 18 million tonnes/year of capacity. The leaders of Venture Global said late last year that their teams had loaded the first cargo from the Plaquemines plant in Port Sulphur, La. (OGJ Online, Dec. 27, 2024). Construction work is ongoing at the complex’s first two phases—which will have nameplate capacity of 13.3 million tpy and 6.7 million tpy—and their commercial operation dates are expected to be late 2026 and mid-2027, respectively. Executives said 16 of the first phase’s 24 trains have produced LNG to date. “This flexible incremental capacity would position us to respond rapidly to market growth signals,” chief executive officer Mike Sabel said on a Mar. 6 conference call discussing the company’s fourth-quarter results and 2025 outlook. “In a capital-intensive commodity industry, capital will always flow to the most competitive projects and we believe that an expansion of Plaquemines is one of the most economically efficient opportunities available to quickly meet LNG demand.” A final investment decision on Phase 3, which would cost about $18 billion, is expected in mid-2027. The first LNG would be produced roughly 18-24 months after that. Sabel and his team also provided an update on the cost of building Plaquemines’ first two phases, saying they will likely cost $23.3-23.8 billion to complete. That’s a roughly $2 billion increase from the previous forecast and, at the midpoint, a jump of 9.5%. At end-2024, Venture Global had spent $19.8 billion of that figure. In addition to the cost update, Sabel and his team also surprised investors by forecasting 2025 adjusted core profits of $6.8-7.4 billion. Analysts had expected more than $8.6 billion. Those updates

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Whitecap Resources, Veren to merge in C$15-billion deal

Whitecap Resources Inc., Calgary, and Veren Inc. have agreed to merge in an all-stock deal valued at $15 billion (Can.), inclusive of net debt, to form a large Western Canadian light oil and condensate producer. The deal brings the Whitecap and Veren together to create “one world-class energy producer with one of the deepest inventory growth sets of both liquids-rich Montney and Duvernay opportunities, along with conventional light oil opportunities in some of the most profitable plays in the Western Canadian basin,” said Grant Fagerheim, Whitecap president and chief executive officer, in a joint release Mar 10.  The combine will hold 370,000 boe/d (63% liquids) of corporate production with overlap across both unconventional and conventional assets, “becomes the largest Canadian light oil focused producer and the seventh largest producer in the Western Canadian Sedimentary basin, with significant natural gas growth potential, the companies said. Alberta Montney, Duvernay  In the Kaybob Duvernay and Alberta Montney, the company expects about 220,000 boe/d of unconventional production with 1.5 million acres in Alberta with and over 4,800 total development locations in the Montney and Duvernay to drive decades of future production growth. Of the 4,800 (4,336 net) drilling locations identified, 766 (713 net) are proved locations, 270 (254 net) are probable locations, and 3,764 (3,369 net) are unbooked locations. Opportunities for inventory enhancement include well and completion design, real-time frac optimization, and reservoir-tailored production practices, Whitecap said in a deal presentation.  Saskatchewan The combine is expected to become the second largest producer in Saskatchewan with consolidated assets in west and southeast Saskatchewan, according to the companies. The combined business will have 40% of its conventional production under waterflood recovery supporting a decline rate of less than 20% on 150,000 boe/d of production. The foundational assets have about 7,000 development locations.  Of the 7,000 (6,201

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Last Energy to Deploy 30 Microreactors in Texas for Data Centers

As the demand for data center power surges in Texas, nuclear startup Last Energy has now announced plans to build 30 microreactors in the state’s Haskell County near the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The reactors will serve a growing customer base of data center operators in the region looking for reliable, carbon-free energy. The plan marks Last Energy’s largest project to date and a significant step in advancing modular nuclear power as a viable solution for high-density computing infrastructure. Meeting the Looming Power Demands of Texas Data Centers Texas is already home to over 340 data centers, with significant expansion underway. Google is increasing its data center footprint in Dallas, while OpenAI’s Stargate has announced plans for a new facility in Abilene, just an hour south of Last Energy’s planned site. The company notes the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area alone is projected to require an additional 43 gigawatts of power in the coming years, far surpassing current grid capacity. To help remediate, Last Energy has secured a 200+ acre site in Haskell County, approximately three and a half hours west of Dallas. The company has also filed for a grid connection with ERCOT, with plans to deliver power via a mix of private wire and grid transmission. Additionally, Last Energy has begun pre-application engagement with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for an Early Site Permit, a key step in securing regulatory approval. According to Last Energy CEO Bret Kugelmass, the company’s modular approach is designed to bring nuclear energy online faster than traditional projects. “Nuclear power is the most effective way to meet Texas’ growing energy demand, but it needs to be deployed faster and at scale,” Kugelmass said. “Our microreactors are designed to be plug-and-play, enabling data center operators to bypass the constraints of an overloaded grid.” Scaling Nuclear for

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Data Center Jobs: Engineering and Technician Jobs Available in Major Markets

Each month Data Center Frontier, in partnership with Pkaza, posts some of the hottest data center career opportunities in the market. Here’s a look at some of the latest data center jobs posted on the Data Center Frontier jobs board, powered by Pkaza Critical Facilities Recruiting.  Data Center Facility Engineer (Night Shift Available) Ashburn, VAThis position is also available in: Tacoma, WA (Nights), Days/Nights: Needham, MA and New York City, NY. This opportunity is working directly with a leading mission-critical data center developer / wholesaler / colo provider. This firm provides data center solutions custom-fit to the requirements of their client’s mission-critical operational facilities. They provide reliability of mission-critical facilities for many of the world’s largest organizations facilities supporting enterprise clients and hyperscale companies. This opportunity provides a career-growth minded role with exciting projects with leading-edge technology and innovation as well as competitive salaries and benefits. Electrical Commissioning Engineer New Albany, OHThis traveling position is also available in: Somerset, NJ; Boydton, VA; Richmond, VA; Ashburn, VA; Charlotte, NC; Atlanta, GA; Hampton, GA; Fayetteville, GA; Des Moines, IA; San Jose, CA; Portland, OR; St Louis, MO; Phoenix, AZ;  Dallas, TX;  Chicago, IL; or Toronto, ON. *** ALSO looking for a LEAD EE and ME CxA agents.*** Our client is an engineering design and commissioning company that has a national footprint and specializes in MEP critical facilities design. They provide design, commissioning, consulting and management expertise in the critical facilities space. They have a mindset to provide reliability, energy efficiency, sustainable design and LEED expertise when providing these consulting services for enterprise, colocation and hyperscale companies. This career-growth minded opportunity offers exciting projects with leading-edge technology and innovation as well as competitive salaries and benefits. Switchgear Field Service Technician – Critical Facilities Nationwide TravelThis position is also available in: Charlotte, NC; Atlanta, GA; Dallas,

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Amid Shifting Regional Data Center Policies, Iron Mountain and DC Blox Both Expand in Virginia’s Henrico County

The dynamic landscape of data center developments in Maryland and Virginia exemplify the intricate balance between fostering technological growth and addressing community and environmental concerns. Data center developers in this region find themselves both in the crosshairs of groups worried about the environment and other groups looking to drive economic growth. In some cases, the groups are different components of the same organizations, such as local governments. For data center development, meeting the needs of these competing interests often means walking a none-too-stable tightrope. Rapid Government Action Encourages Growth In May 2024, Maryland demonstrated its commitment to attracting data center investments by enacting the Critical Infrastructure Streamlining Act. This legislation provides a clear framework for the use of emergency backup power generation, addressing previous regulatory challenges that a few months earlier had hindered projects like Aligned Data Centers’ proposed 264-megawatt campus in Frederick County, causing Aligned to pull out of the project. However, just days after the Act was signed by the governor, Aligned reiterated its plans to move forward with development in Maryland.  With the Quantum Loop and the related data center development making Frederick County a focal point for a balanced approach, the industry is paying careful attention to the pace of development and the relations between developers, communities and the government. In September of 2024, Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater revealed draft legislation that would potentially restrict where in the county data centers could be built. The legislation was based on information found in the Frederick County Data Centers Workgroup’s final report. Those bills would update existing regulations and create a floating zone for Critical Digital Infrastructure and place specific requirements on siting data centers. Statewide, a cautious approach to environmental and community impacts statewide has been deemed important. In January 2025, legislators introduced SB116,  a bill

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New Reports Show How AI, Power, and Investment Trends Are Reshaping the Data Center Landscape

Today we provide a comprehensive roundup of the latest industry analyst reports from CBRE, PwC, and Synergy Research, offering a data-driven perspective on the state of the North American data center market.  To wit, CBRE’s latest findings highlight record-breaking growth in supply, soaring colocation pricing, and mounting power constraints shaping site selection. For its part, PwC’s analysis underscores the sector’s broader economic impact, quantifying its trillion-dollar contribution to GDP, rapid job growth, and surging tax revenues.  Meanwhile, the latest industry analysis from Synergy Research details the acceleration of cloud spending, AI’s role in fueling infrastructure demand, and an unprecedented surge in data center mergers and acquisitions.  Together, these reports paint a picture of an industry at an inflection point—balancing explosive expansion with evolving challenges in power availability, cost pressures, and infrastructure investment. Let’s examine them. CBRE: Surging Demand Fuels Record Data Center Expansion CBRE says the North American data center sector is scaling at an unprecedented pace, driven by unrelenting demand from artificial intelligence (AI), hyperscale, and cloud service providers. The latest North America Data Center Trends H2 2024 report from CBRE reveals that total supply across primary markets surged by 34% year-over-year to 6,922.6 megawatts (MW), outpacing the 26% growth recorded in 2023. This accelerating expansion has triggered record-breaking construction activity and intensified competition for available capacity. Market Momentum: Scaling Amid Power Constraints According to CBRE, data center construction activity reached historic levels, with 6,350 MW under development at the close of 2024—more than doubling the 3,077.8 MW recorded a year prior. Yet, the report finds the surge in development is being met with significant hurdles, including power constraints and supply chain challenges affecting critical electrical infrastructure. As a result, the vacancy rate across primary markets has plummeted to an all-time low of 1.9%, with only a handful of sites

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Minnesota PUC Says No to Amazon’s Bid to Fast-Track 250 Diesel Generators for Data Center

Amazon is facing scrutiny and significant pushbacks over its plan to install 250 diesel backup generators for a proposed data center in Becker, Minnesota. Much of the concern had been due to the fact that the hyperscaler was seeking an exemption from the state’s standard permitting process, a move that has sparked opposition from environmental groups and state officials. Aggregate Power that Matches Nuclear Power Generation Amazon’s proposed fleet of diesel generators would have a maximum power output almost equivalent to the 647 MW that is produced by Xcel Energy’s nuclear plant in Monticello, one of the two existing nuclear generation stations in the state. Meanwhile, as reported by Datacenter Dynamics, according to a real estate filing published with the Minnesota Department of Revenue, the land parcel assigned for the Amazon data center in Becker was previously part of Minneapolis-based utility Xcel’s coal-powered Sherco Site. Amazon argues that the diesel generators in question are essential to ensuring reliable and secure access to critical data and applications for its customers, including hospitals and first responders. However, opponents worry about the environmental impact and the precedent it may set for future large-scale data center developments in the state. The Law and Its Exception Under Minnesota state law, any power plant capable of generating 50 megawatts or more that connects to the grid via transmission lines must obtain a Certificate of Need from the Public Utilities Commission (PUC). This certification ensures that the infrastructure is necessary and that no cheaper, cleaner alternatives exist. Amazon, however, contends that its generators do not fall under this requirement because they are not connected to the larger electric grid; power generated would be strictly used by the data center suffering an outage from its primary power source. That power would be generated locally, and not transmitted over

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As CoreWeave Files for IPO, Will NVIDIA Tighten Its Grip on the AI Cloud?

A Partnership Forged in Innovation CoreWeave’s origins as a specialized cloud provider for GPU-intensive workloads positioned it as a natural ally for NVIDIA, the undisputed leader in GPU technology. From the outset, CoreWeave’s business model was built around leveraging NVIDIA’s cutting-edge hardware to deliver HPC and AI services. The evolving partnership between NVIDIA and CoreWeave exemplifies a strategic alignment that is reshaping the data center landscape, particularly in the realm of AI workloads. CoreWeave, initially established in 2017 as a cryptocurrency mining operation, adeptly pivoted to cloud computing services, specializing in GPU-accelerated infrastructure tailored for AI applications. This transition has been significantly bolstered by NVIDIA’s advanced GPU technology, positioning CoreWeave as a formidable player in the AI infrastructure sector.  This alignment of vision and technology created a symbiotic relationship: CoreWeave provided a platform for NVIDIA’s GPUs to shine in the cloud, while NVIDIA’s hardware gave CoreWeave a competitive edge in delivering unparalleled computational power. A pivotal development in this alliance occurred when CoreWeave became the first Elite Cloud Services Provider (CSP) for compute within the NVIDIA Partner Network (NPN). This designation underscores CoreWeave’s commitment to delivering cutting-edge GPU resources, optimized for complex AI tasks, and highlights NVIDIA’s confidence in CoreWeave’s capabilities to meet the escalating demands of AI developers.  Leading up to its IPO, CoreWeave’s financial trajectory has been remarkable. In 2024, the company reported a revenue surge to $1.9 billion, marking a 737% increase from the previous year. This exponential growth is largely attributed to the escalating demand for AI computing power, with CoreWeave’s infrastructure, powered by NVIDIA GPUs, serving as a critical enabler for organizations seeking scalable AI solutions.  Over the years, this partnership has deepened, with CoreWeave becoming one of NVIDIA’s largest customers for its A100 and H100 GPUs. These GPUs, designed for AI training and inference,

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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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