DataCenters.buzz, October 2024

DataCenter Economics & Investments

Amazon Doubles Down on Nuclear Energy With Deal for Small Reactors - The cloud computing giant signed a deal to buy electricity generated by small modular reactors to power its data centers. This follows a similar announcement by Google. Amazon is leading a $500 million funding round for X-Energy Reactor, a company that develops small modular nuclear reactors and fuel. (DataCenter Knowledge)

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Chicago Alderman Proposes Data Center Development to Boost Economic Growth - This week, workers began tearing down the vacant Sears world headquarters in Hoffman Estates before the site is turned into a data center, a trend that has grown popular in the suburbs and now, a Chicago alderman wants to bring more of them into the city. (Y!)

Applied Digital Announces $160 Million Strategic Financing, Fueling Transformative Accelerated Compute and AI Infrastructure

Google To Invest More than $1B in Texas This Year To Support Its Cloud & Data Center Infrastructure - Google's "Dallas cloud region," first announced in 2022, includes sprawling data center campuses in the North Texas cities of Midlothian and Red Oak. At a press conference in Midlothian, the company… (Dallas Innovates)

Energy & Sustainability

Amazon Prefers Renewables in Asia as Nuclear Still Elusive - Amazon sticks with renewables to power data centers in Asia, while others like Microsoft explore nuclear options in the US. “We’re going where we can procure today, and that’s renewables” in the region, said Ken Haig, APAC regional head of energy and environmental policy at Amazon Web Services. “Is it possible to procure nuclear power in this part of the world? Not yet.” (DataCenter Knowledge)

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Data Center Boom to Drive 2.5B Metric Tons of CO2 Emissions - A surge in the construction of data centers worldwide is projected to result in approximately 2.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions by the end of the decade, according to a Morgan Stanley report. This expansion, largely driven by hyperscalers like Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon, is fueled by the increasing demand for artificial intelligence and cloud computing technologies. Amazon, Microsoft and Google now account for 60 percent of all hyperscale data center capacity. (greentechlead)

Data Centers Spark Billions in Decarbonization Investment - A surge in data centers is predicted to generate 2.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions by 2030, spurring decarbonization investments. Hyperscalers like Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon are rapidly expanding their energy-intensive data centers while pledging to cut emissions. Investments in clean energy, efficient technology, and carbon capture are expected to rise. (DevDiscourse)

Meta Signs 150-MW Geothermal Power Purchase Agreement with Sage Geosystems - Meta will purchase geothermal power from Sage Geosystems' proprietary Geopressured Geothermal Systems to power their data centers in the US. The agreement was announced during the US Dept of Energy’s… (ThinkGeoEnergy)

Geopolitics, Global & Sovereigns

First IBM Quantum Data Center in Europe Opens; Will Include IBM's Most Performant Quantum Systems - Expansion of IBM's utility-scale fleet of quantum computers in Ehningen, Germany is marked with ribbon-cutting by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and industry leaders. Now online, Europe's first IBM Quantum Data Center includes two new utility-scale, IBM Quantum Eagle-based systems, and will soon feature a new IBM Quantum Heron-based system. These systems are capable of performing computations beyond the brute-force simulation capabilities of classical computers. (IBM.com)

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Hyderabad Hosts Global AI Summit: Aiming to Become the World's AI Capital - Staking claim to the tag of “AI capital of the world”, Hyderabad will host a two-day Global Artificial Intelligence Summit (GAIS) at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre. With the theme “Making AI work for everyone”, the global conference will deliberate on important issues on the use of Artificial Intelligence in technical advancements. The summit is said to be the first-ever such event to be hosted by a state government in India and is clearly meant to attract the world’s attention towards Hyderabad as a leader in the fields of Information Technology & AI. (New Indian Express)

Governments Say ‘aye’ to Sovereign AI - ​​A pre-bid meeting hosted by the IT ministry saw participation from heavyweights like Nvidia, Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, Microsoft Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, and Palo Alto Networks. Generative AI (GenAI) is reshaping global economies, with nations scrambling to leverage this transformative technology for economic and productivity gains. (India Times)

Naver and NVIDIA Strengthen AI Chip Partnership, Focusing on Sovereign AI Development (Business Korea)

Hyperscalers & Mag 7+

Google Turns to Nuclear to Power AI data Centres - Google has signed a deal to use small nuclear reactors to generate the vast amounts of energy needed to power its artificial intelligence (AI) data centres. The company says the agreement with Kairos Power will deliver the first reactor this decade and bring more online by 2035. (BBC)

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NVIDIA Announces Financial Results for Second Quarter Fiscal 2025 - Nvidia reported record quarterly revenue of $30.0 billion, up 15% from Q1 and up 122% from a year ago...and record quarterly Data Center revenue of $26.3 billion, up 16% from Q1 and up 154% from a year ago. (Nvidia news). Also see: Nvidia Can’t Escape Shadow of AI Spending Fears - Strong results from chip maker don’t ease worries about durability of Big Tech’s AI investments.

APAC countries, among the world's top 20 locations for hyperscale data centres - New data from Synergy shows that three APAC countries, China (Beijing and Shanghai), Japan, and Singapore, are among the world's top 20 locations… (FutureCIO)

Here's what AWS, Microsoft and Google's capex plans mean for data center growth - If you thought AWS, Google and Microsoft were big now, just wait until 2029. Though hyperscalers only accounted for around 20% of all global data center capacity in 2017, that number is set to hit nearly 60% by 2029, according to… (FIERCE Network)

Infrastructure, Security & Technology

Data Centers Are Suddenly Everywhere — But Some Say "no thanks" - Some communities and politicians are pushing back against data centers — vital yet sometimes controversial facilities underpinning our digital lives and the AI explosion. Why it matters: More than 5,000 of these key tech facilities now dot the American landscape, often requiring massive amounts of energy and land and receiving big government incentives. For example: Atlanta's city council in Sept. banned data centers near transit stations, with one member arguing they conflict with housing, parks and other land use demands. (Axios)

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Telcos and Hyperscalers are Driving Digital Transformation - In the data centre sector, telcos and hyperscalers play a complementary role, with hyperscalers being present in key cities with large data centres, while telcos have a role to play as regional data centres with more reach & capillarity in their respective markets. (Data Centre Mag)

European Alternative to AWS, Azure and Google was Born Inside Lidl (techzine)

3 Key Approaches to Data Center Automation: RPA vs. AI vs. Intelligent Automation - State and local governments can increase the sophistication of their operations with these capabilities. (StateTech)

Case study: How a data centre services provider built robust cybersecurity using AI/ML - Data Centre Colocation service provider STT GDC India transformed cybersecurity with AI and ML by building a unified view of threats across its… (EY)

Quantum-readiness, Hybrid & Co-Location

Cisco Takes Aim at Developing Quantum Data Center - Researchers from Cisco report there are substantial efforts underway now to develop practical quantum networks and data centers. Cisco Research recently hosted its Quantum Summit 2024 gathering that drew industry experts to discuss ongoing work focused on everything quantum from networking to security, but it was research being done in the quantum data center that garnered most of Cisco’s focus. (Network World)

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory Partners with Quantum Brilliance for Hybrid Quantum Computing Project - Quantum Brilliance has partnered with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to integrate room-temperature quantum computers with classical supercomputers. The diamond-based quantum technology company and the lab are planning to build a platform that will support the on-premises integration of Quantum Brilliance’s diamond quantum accelerators into the HPC systems housed at ORNL. (Data Center Dynamics)

Quantum Computers, Coming to a Data Center Near You - Getting quantum and classical hardware to coexist takes deft engineering. Quantum processors are expected to massively outperform classical ones on certain problems, but for many… (IEEE)

Colocating Quantum with Classical Computers: Building New Hybrid Data Centers - The primary motivation for colocating quantum and classical computers lies in the complementary nature of their computational strengths. Classical… (HPC Wire)

DataCenter Workforce & Talent

Global Cybersecurity Talent Gap Widens - While the cybersecurity workforce continues to expand, there are only enough workers to fill 83% of available cybersecurity jobs, reports job market source CyberSeek. Data from CyberSeek shows that in the U.S., some 265,000 more cybersecurity workers are needed to solve current staffing needs. (Network World)

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Cost, AI, and Staffing Are Biggest Concerns for Data Centers - Data center operators are grappling with rising costs, the impact of AI on capacity requirements, and persistent staffing shortages, Uptime Institute reports. (Network World)

Overcoming Data Center Industry Staff Shortages with Skilled Tradespeople - High schools and vocational schools could implement programs to introduce students to data center industry careers--and even provide basic training to get them started.

Data centers need to ‘reboot’ their image to attract young workers - A recent survey by the Uptime Institute reveals a stark reality: over half (53 percent) of data center operators report significant difficulties in finding qualified personnel… (DCD)

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