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Trump Freeze Targets Biden’s Green Bank, EV Tax Credits And More

A $400 billion green bank for clean energy projects and a popular consumer tax credit for electric vehicles are among items being targeted for review under a government-wide spending freeze ordered by the Trump administration. The initiatives are listed in a 52-page document from the White House Office of Management and Budget, seen by Bloomberg […]

A $400 billion green bank for clean energy projects and a popular consumer tax credit for electric vehicles are among items being targeted for review under a government-wide spending freeze ordered by the Trump administration.

The initiatives are listed in a 52-page document from the White House Office of Management and Budget, seen by Bloomberg News, that details hundreds of programs whose funding is being scrutinized by the White House after it directed the government to temporarily pause spending.

The Office of Management and Budget issued the sweeping directive Monday as part of the new president’s aim to overhaul the federal government to align it with the incoming administration’s priorities, which have included halting foreign aid, promoting liquefied natural gas exports and shuttering diversity programs. A federal judge in Washington on Tuesday evening temporarily halted the administration from enforcing the directive.

The list includes the Energy Department’s Loan Programs Office, which swelled to $400 billion in financing power under President Joe Biden and his signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act. The lending program has nearly $47 billion in conditional commitments to companies in addition to $60.6 billion in loans and loan guarantees that have been granted, including to California utility PG&E Corp. and biofuel maker Calumet Inc. 

Also being eyed is a program known as the Advanced Research Projects Agency- Energy, or ARPA-E that has spent billions funding projects meant to achieve technological breakthroughs. 

An Energy Department spokesman confirmed Tuesday the agency is conducting a department-wide review of spending “to ensure all activities are consistent with President Trump’s executive orders and priorities.”  

A slew of tax credits administered by the Treasury Department also made the list, including a $7,500 credit for the purchase of electric vehicles that has been targeted by Trump. But tax breaks for nuclear power as well as subsidies enjoyed by the oil industry, such for enhanced oil recovery and marginal wells, also made the list.

Firefighting programs at the Department of Agriculture, programs worth billions to shore up the US electric grid and several climate research programs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were also targeted.

Just because a program was included on the list, doesn’t mean it will be permanently frozen or eliminated. The document specifies the government wants information about anticipated payouts through March 15. 



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Chevron VP Confirms Job Cuts

In a statement sent to Rigzone by the Chevron team, Chevron Corporation Vice Chairman Mark Nelson confirmed that the company expects to cut up to 20 percent of its workforce. “Chevron is taking action to simplify our organizational structure, execute faster and more effectively, and position the company for stronger

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Palo Alto Networks firewall bug being exploited by threat actors: Report

The issue doesn’t affect the company’s Cloud NGFW or Prisma Access software. Greynoise said exploitation began around Tuesday of this week. Assetnote published research about the hole on Wednesday. Palo Alto Networks published its advisory the same day. ‘Weird path-processing behavior’ The vulnerability, Assetnote said, is a “weird path-processing behavior”

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Aker Solutions Logs 42 Percent YoY Growth in Q4 Revenue

Aker Solutions ASA has reported NOK 15.71 billion ($1.41 billion) in revenue for the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2024, up 41.97 percent from the same three-month period last year, attributing the increase to high activity across segments and locations. Revenue excluding special items totaled NOK 15.708 billion for Q4 2024, up 42.53 percent year-on-year (YoY). The adjustments were mainly acquisition costs, restructuring costs, impairments, costs linked to the impact of currency derivatives not qualifying for hedge accounting and changes in the value of SLB shares, Aker Solutions said in its quarterly report. Aker Solutions, SLB and Subsea7 are co-venturers in subsea supplier One Subsea, which contributed NOK 166 million to Aker Solutions’ Q4 net profit. Net profit excluding special items rose 117.4 percent year-over-year to NOK 837 million, or NOK 1.7 per share. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) climbed 99.78 percent year-on-year to NOK 1.19 billion. EBITDA excluding special items increased 5.6 percent year-on-year to NOK 1.2 billion. “This was driven by continued strong performance in our Life Cycle segment, while negatively affected by additional losses in the legacy renewables projects, which will be delivered in 2025”, the energy engineering company said in its quarterly report. EBIT increased 209.85 percent year-on-year to NOK 849 million. Excluding special items, EBIT increased 125.95 percent to NOK 888 million. Net cash flow from operating activities was NOK 1.18 billion, up 99.86 percent year-on-year. Oslo-listed Aker Solutions distributed NOK 10 billion in extraordinary dividends during Q4. The board is proposing NOK 3.3 dividend per share for 2024. “The dividend payment represents approximately 50 percent of net income excl. special items, in line with the ordinary dividend policy”, the company said. Aker Solutions ended 2024 with NOK 17.92 billion in current assets including NOK 2.86 billion in cash and cash equivalents. Its

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Petro-Victory to Acquire Oil Assets in Brazil’s Potiguar Basin

Petro-Victory Energy Corp. is pushing through with the acquisition of 13 oil fields in Rio Grande do Norte, located in the Potiguar Basin of Brazil, from Brava Energia S.A. Petro-Victory signed a sale purchase agreement, with a 50/50 partnership with Azevedo & Travassos Petroleo (ATP), for the acquisition of Polo Porto Carão and Polo Barrinha from Brava Energia subsidiaries 3R RNCE S.A. and 3R Potiguar S.A. The Calgary, Alberta-based company signed an exclusivity agreement with Brava Energia S.A. for the assets in December 2024. The total acquisition value for the assets is $15 million, net $7.5 million for Petro-Victory, it said in a news release. The payment will be made in four tranches plus a gross overriding royalty, of which Petro-Victory’s contribution will be pro-rated at 50 percent working interest. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals from the National Agency of Petroleum in Brazil, the company said. The 13 oil fields, with fully operational production facilities comprising 38,301 acres, are “strategically located adjacent to Petro-Victory’s existing assets,” it said. The assets have current production of 250 barrels of oil per day, with a high-impact work program underway to increase oil production. Brazil’s National Agency of Petroleum has reported a volume of oil in place of 125 million barrels, with a recovery factor of 13.3 percent, according to the release. “The proximity of the new oil fields to our existing assets enables us to streamline logistics and share services such as maintenance, transportation, administrative support, and resource allocation for personnel, equipment, and technologies. This shared infrastructure significantly reduces overall operational costs,” Petro-Victory said. The Porto Carão Cluster is located in the Potiguar onshore basin, in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, near the municipality of Guamaré. It

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North America Drops Rigs Again WoW

North America dropped two rigs week on week, according to Baker Hughes’ latest North America rotary rig count, which was released on February 14. Although the U.S. added two rigs week on week, Canada dropped four rigs during the same period, taking the total North America rig count down to 833, comprising 588 rigs from the U.S. and 245 rigs from Canada, the count outlined. Of the total U.S. rig count of 588, 572 rigs are categorized as land rigs, 14 are categorized as offshore rigs, and two are categorized as inland water rigs. The total U.S. rig count is made up of 481 oil rigs, 101 gas rigs, and six miscellaneous rigs, according to the count, which revealed that the U.S. total comprises 524 horizontal rigs, 51 directional rigs, and 13 vertical rigs. Week on week, the U.S. land rig count increased by two, and the country’s offshore and inland water rig counts remained unchanged, the count highlighted. The U.S. oil and gas rig counts each increased by one week on week, and the country’s miscellaneous rig count remained unchanged during the same timeframe, the count showed. Baker Hughes’ count revealed that the U.S. horizontal and directional rig counts each increased by one week on week, while the country’s vertical rig count remained unchanged during the period. A major state variances subcategory included in the rig count showed that, week on week, Texas added two rigs, and Oklahoma and Utah each added one rig. Louisiana and North Dakota each dropped one rig week on week, according to the count. A major basin variances subcategory included in Baker Hughes’ rig count showed that the Granite Wash and Permian basins each added one rig and the Williston basin dropped one rig, week on week. Canada’s total rig count of 245 is

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Energy Transfer to Provide Gas to AI Data Center in Texas

Energy Transfer LP has entered into a long-term agreement to provide natural gas to CloudBurst Data Centers, Inc.’s flagship AI-focused data center development in Central Texas. Energy Transfer subsidiary Oasis Pipeline, LP will provide up to 450,000 million British thermal units (MMBtu) per day of firm natural gas supply to CloudBurst’s Next-Gen Data Center campus outside of San Marcos, Texas, subject to CloudBurst reaching a final investment decision (FID) with its customer. The natural gas supply would be sufficient to generate up to approximately 1.2 gigawatts of direct, or “behind-the-meter” electric power for a period of at least 10 years starting with phase 1 of the data center facilities, Energy Transfer said in a news release. Denver-based CloudBurst expects to reach FID later in the year and anticipates the facility to be operational in the third quarter of 2026. The agreement represents Energy Transfer’s first commercial arrangement to supply natural gas directly to a data center, it said. Energy Transfer remarked that it is” uniquely positioned to provide reliable natural gas supply that is crucial to the data center operations under development,” many of which are near its network of more than 105,000 miles of natural gas gathering, and intrastate and interstate transportation pipelines and storage facilities with a combined storage capacity of nearly 236 billion cubic feet. Energy Transfer further said it is in discussions with a number of data center developers and expects this to be the “first of many agreements” to supply, store and transport natural gas to fuel data centers, electric generation facilities and other power-demand customers. “We are very excited about our close relationship with Energy Transfer and feel extremely confident in their ability to provide redundancy through their vast pipeline network and storage capacity. In addition, we will work closely with Energy Transfer to

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Global Underwater Hub and Scottish Enterprise forge floating wind partnership

The Global Underwater Hub (GUH) and Scottish Enterprise (SE) have forged a partnership aimed at transforming the UK’s subsea supply chain into a global centre of excellence for floating offshore wind. Signed on the opening day of Subsea Expo 2025, the groups signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at maximising the economic value presented by floating wind’s projected global growth. It will also support the transition of the UK’s oil and gas underwater sector supply chain into floating offshore wind. Working together, the GUH and SE will identify and bring together the companies, organisations, facilities, resources and expertise that can support the growth of the floating offshore wind industry in the UK and internationally. In addition, they will identify gaps in the UK’s underwater supply chain capability, infrastructure, resources and expertise, relative to the needs of the floating offshore wind market, with an aim to providing targeted support to fill those gaps. Focus areas include subsea cable systems, moorings and anchoring as well as underwater operations and maintenance. GUH chief executive Neil Gordon said: “The growth of floating offshore wind brings massive opportunities for our underwater supply chain. ScotWind alone represents £28 billion in development, manufacturing, and installation opportunities to bring 30GW of generating capacity online over the next decade and a further £33b from operations and maintenance over the full life of a windfarm. “With extensive experience, skills and technology, honed over five decades in offshore energy, our supply chain is perfectly positioned to meet the challenges and complexity of floating offshore wind.” Scottish Enterprise director for energy transition Suzanne Sosna added: “Our vision is for Scotland to be viewed around the world as a centre of excellence for offshore wind, with supply chains that are world-leading in terms of value, competitiveness, and service. “Collaborative working is essential to

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Petrobras Unlocks New Production in Buzios Oilfield

Petróleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) and its partners have started production at the Búzios7 project, expected to raise production in the Búzios oilfield offshore Brazil to as much as one million barrels per day (bpd) by the second half of 2025. “Shortly, it is anticipated that Búzios will become Petrobras’ largest production field, with the goal of reaching 2 million barrels per day by 2030”, Petrobras said in an online statement Monday announcing the start-up of Búzios7. Concurrently Petrobras announced a new discovery in the western part of the field. Well 9-BUZ-99D-RJS, drilled to a water depth of 1,940 meters (6,364.83 feet), is a new accumulation in a zone below the main reservoir. The well is 189 kilometers (117.44 miles) off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, according to Petrobras. “Tests conducted from a depth of 5,600 meters confirmed the presence of oil reservoirs through electrical profiles, which will later be characterized through laboratory analyses”, it said in a separate press release. “The discovery reaffirms the pre-salt potential of the Búzios field”. The sixth project started up in the field, Búzios7 has a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel and a subsea production system. “The FPSO used in Buzios7 project is one of the largest FPSOs in the world, with a processing capacity higher than the industry average”, co-venturer CNOOC Ltd. said separately. FPSO Almirante Tamandaré, leased from SBM Offshore, can produce up to 225,000 bpd, process 12 million cubic meters (423.78 million cubic feet) a day of natural gas and store 1.4 million barrels of crude. It is equipped with closed flare to minimize greenhouse gas emissions and heat recovery devices to reduce energy consumption, according to the partners. Búzios7 will have 15 development wells including seven for production. Six wells will double up for water access and gas

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Data center spending to top $1 trillion by 2029 as AI transforms infrastructure

His projections account for recent advances in AI and data center efficiency, he says. For example, the open-source AI model from Chinese company DeepSeek seems to have shown that an LLM can produce very high-quality results at a very low cost with some clever architectural changes to how the models work. These improvements are likely to be quickly replicated by other AI companies. “A lot of these companies are trying to push out more efficient models,” says Fung. “There’s a lot of effort to reduce costs and to make it more efficient.” In addition, hyperscalers are designing and building their own chips, optimized for their AI workloads. Just the accelerator market alone is projected to reach $392 billion by 2029, Dell’Oro predicts. By that time, custom accelerators will outpace commercially available accelerators such as GPUs. The deployment of dedicated AI servers also has an impact on networking, power and cooling. As a result, spending on data center physical infrastructure (DCPI) will also increase, though at a more moderate pace, growing by 14% annually to $61 billion in 2029.  “DCPI deployments are a prerequisite to support AI workloads,” says Tam Dell’Oro, founder of Dell’Oro Group, in the report. The research firm raised its outlook in this area due to the fact that actual 2024 results exceeded its expectations, and demand is spreading from tier one to tier two cloud service providers. In addition, governments and tier one telecom operators are getting involved in data center expansion, making it a long-term trend.

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The Future of Property Values and Power in Virginia’s Loudoun County and ‘Data Center Alley’

Loudoun County’s FY 2026 Proposed Budget Is Released This week, Virginia’s Loudoun County released its FY 2026 Proposed Budget. The document notes how data centers are a major driver of revenue growth in Loudoun County, contributing significantly to both personal and real property tax revenues. As noted above, data centers generate almost 50% of Loudoun County property tax revenues. Importantly, Loudoun County has now implemented measures such as a Revenue Stabilization Fund (RSF) to manage the risks associated with this revenue dependency. The FY 2026 budget reflects the strong growth in data center-related revenue, allowing for tax rate reductions while still funding critical services and infrastructure projects. But the county is mindful of the potential volatility in data center revenue and is planning for long-term fiscal sustainability. The FY 2026 Proposed Budget notes how Loudoun County’s revenue from personal property taxes, particularly from data centers, has grown significantly. From FY 2013 to FY 2026, revenue from this source has increased from $60 million to over $800 million. Additionally, the county said its FY 2026 Proposed Budget benefits from $150 million in new revenue from the personal property tax portfolio, with $133 million generated specifically from computer equipment (primarily data centers). The county said data centers have also significantly impacted the real property tax portfolio. In Tax Year (TY) 2025, 73% of the county’s commercial portfolio is composed of data centers. The county said its overall commercial portfolio experienced a 50% increase in value between TY 2024 and TY 2025, largely driven by the appreciation of data center properties. RSF Meets Positive Economic Outlook The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors created the aformentioned Revenue Stabilization Fund (RSF) to manage the risks associated with the county’s reliance on data center-related revenue. The RSF targets 10% of data center-related real and personal property tax

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Deep Diving on DeepSeek: AI Disruption and the Future of Liquid Cooling

We know that the data center industry is currently undergoing a period of rapid transformation, driven by the increasing demands of artificial intelligence (AI) workloads and evolving cooling technologies. And it appears that the recent emergence of DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup, alongside supply chain issues for NVIDIA’s next-generation GB200 AI chips, may be prompting data center operators to reconsider their cooling strategies. Angela Taylor, Chief of Staff at LiquidStack, provided insights to Data Center Frontier on these developments, outlining potential shifts in the industry and the future of liquid cooling adoption. DeepSeek’s Market Entry and Supply Chain Disruptions Taylor told DCF, “DeepSeek’s entry into the market, combined with NVIDIA’s GB200 supply chain delays, is giving data center operators a lot to think about.” At issue here is how DeepSeek’s R1 chatbot came out of the box positioned an energy-efficient AI model that reportedly requires significantly less power than many of its competitors. This development raises questions about whether current data center cooling infrastructures are adequate, particularly as AI workloads become more specialized and diverse. At the same time, NVIDIA’s highly anticipated GB200 NVL72 AI servers, designed to handle next-generation AI workloads, are reportedly facing supply chain bottlenecks. Advanced design requirements, particularly for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and power-efficient cooling systems, have delayed shipments, with peak availability now expected between Q2 and Q3 of 2025.  This combination of a new AI player and delayed hardware supply has created uncertainty, compelling data center operators to reconsider their near-term cooling infrastructure investments. A Temporary Slowdown in AI Data Center Retrofits? Taylor also observed, “We may see a short-term slowdown in AI data center retrofits as operators assess whether air cooling can now meet their needs.” The efficiency of DeepSeek’s AI models suggests that some AI workloads may require less power and generate less heat, making air

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Georgia Follows Ohio’s Lead in Moving Energy Costs to Data Centers

The rule also mandates that any new contracts between Georgia Power and large-load customers exceeding 100 MW be submitted to the PSC for review. This provision ensures regulatory oversight and transparency in agreements that could significantly impact the state’s power grid and ratepayers. Commissioner Lauren “Bubba” McDonald points out that this is one of a number of actions that the PSC is planning to protect ratepayers, and that the PSC’s 2025 Integrated Resource Plan will further address data center power usage. Keeping Ahead of Anticipated Energy Demand This regulatory change reflects Georgia’s proactive approach to managing the increasing energy demands associated with the state’s growing data center industry, aiming to balance economic development with the interests of all electricity consumers. Georgia Power has been trying very hard to develop generation capacity to meet it’s expected usage pattern, but the demand is increasing at an incredible rate. In their projection for increased energy demand, the 2022 number was 400 MW by 2030. A year later, in their 2023 Integrated Resource Plan, the anticipated increase had grown to 6600 MW by 2030. Georgia Power recently brought online two new nuclear reactors at the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, significantly increasing its nuclear generation capacity giving the four unit power generation station a capacity of over 4.5 GW. This development has contributed to a shift in Georgia’s energy mix, with clean energy sources surpassing fossil fuels for the first time. But despite the commitment to nuclear power, the company is also in the process of developing three new power plants at the Yates Steam Generating Plant. According to the AJC newspaper, regulators had approved the construction of fossil fuel power, approving natural gas and oil-fired power plants. Designed as “peaker” plants to come online at times of increased the demand, the power plants will

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Chevron, GE Vernova, Engine No.1 Join Race to Co-Locate Natural Gas Plants for U.S. Data Centers

Other Recent Natural Gas Developments for Data Centers As of February 2025, the data center industry has seen a host of significant developments in natural gas plant technologies and strategic partnerships aimed at meeting the escalating energy demands driven by AI and cloud computing. In addition to the partnership between Chevron, Engine No. 1, and GE Vernova, other consequential initiatives include the following: ExxonMobil’s Entry into the Electricity Market ExxonMobil has announced plans to build natural gas-fired power plants to supply electricity to AI data centers. The company intends to leverage carbon capture and storage technology to minimize emissions, positioning its natural gas solutions as competitive alternatives to nuclear power. This announcement in particular seemed to herald a notable shift in industry as fossil fuel companies venture into the electricity market to meet the rising demand for low-carbon power. Powerconnex Inc.’s Natural Gas Plant in Ohio An Ohio data center in New Albany, developed by Powerconnex Inc., plans to construct a natural gas-fired power plant on-site to meet its electricity needs amidst the AI industry’s increasing energy demands. The New Albany Energy Center is expected to generate up to 120 megawatts (MW) of electricity, with construction beginning in Q4 2025 and operations commencing by Q1 2026. Crusoe and Kalina Distributed Power Partnership in Alberta, Canada AI data center developer Crusoe has entered into a multi-year framework agreement with Kalina Distributed Power to develop multiple co-located AI data centers powered by natural gas power plants in Alberta, Canada. Crusoe will own and operate the data centers, purchasing power from three Kalina-owned 170 MW gas-fired power plants through 15-year Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). Entergy’s Natural Gas Power Plants for Data Centers Entergy plans to deploy three new natural gas power plants, providing over 2,200 MW of energy over 15 years, pending approval

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Podcast: Phill Lawson-Shanks, Chief Innovation Officer, Aligned Data Centers

In the latest episode of the Data Center Frontier Show podcast, DCF Editor-in-Chief Matt Vincent sits down with Phill Lawson-Shanks, Chief Innovation Officer at Aligned Data Centers, for a wide-ranging discussion that touches on some of the most pressing trends and challenges shaping the future of the data center industry. From the role of nuclear energy and natural gas in addressing the sector’s growing power demands, to the rapid expansion of Aligned’s operations in Latin America (LATAM), in the course of the podcast Lawson-Shanks provides deep insight into where the industry is headed. Scaling Sustainability: Tracking Embodied Carbon and Scope 3 Emissions A key focus of the conversation is sustainability, where Aligned continues to push boundaries in carbon tracking and energy efficiency. Lawson-Shanks highlights the company’s commitment to monitoring embodied carbon—an effort that began four years ago and has since positioned Aligned as an industry leader. “We co-authored and helped found the Climate Accord with iMasons—taking sustainability to a whole new level,” he notes, emphasizing how Aligned is now extending its carbon traceability standards to ODATA’s facilities in LATAM. By implementing lifecycle assessments (LCAs) and tracking Scope 3 emissions, Aligned aims to provide clients with a detailed breakdown of their environmental impact. “The North American market is still behind in lifecycle assessments and environmental product declarations. Where gaps exist, we look for adjacencies and highlight them—helping move the industry forward,” Lawson-Shanks explains. The Nuclear Moment: A Game-Changer for Data Center Power One of the most compelling segments of the discussion revolves around the growing interest in nuclear energy—particularly small modular reactors (SMRs) and microreactors—as a viable long-term power solution for data centers. Lawson-Shanks describes the recent industry buzz surrounding Oklo’s announcement of a 12-gigawatt deployment with Switch as a significant milestone, calling the move “inevitable.” “There are dozens of nuclear

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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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