Data Center and AI Industry Newsletter - April 13, 2025

Top News Highlights

1. Microsoft Expands AI Security with Autonomous Agents Microsoft has introduced AI security agents to combat rising cyber threats, including a phishing triage agent that can autonomously handle routine phishing alerts. This marks a significant shift toward agentic AI systems that operate with greater autonomy while maintaining human oversight. Bastakiss
2. Deep Research is now available on Gemini 2.5 Pro Experimental. Gemini Advanced subscribers can now use Deep Research with Gemini 2.5 Pro Experimental, the world’s most capable AI model according to industry reasoning benchmarks and Chatbot Arena.
3. Meta Releases Llama 4 Models Meta has released new multimodal AI models, Llama 4 Scout and Llama 4 Maverick, capable of processing media beyond text. These models are part of Meta's open-source strategy, reinforcing its commitment to community-driven AI development.
4. 2025 State of the Data Center Industry Report The ninth annual report highlights AI's seismic impact on data center design, operation, and construction. It notes a significant increase in data center capacity requirements due to AI workloads and a growing interest in nuclear energy as a renewable source. (Source: Data Center World)

Europe

• ACS plans to develop data centers in Aragon, Spain
• AI Energy Council to ensure UK’s energy infrastructure ready for AI revolution
• Amazon signs PPA with OX2 for 472MW of onshore wind power in Finland
• Bucks plans for another new data centre in green belt.
• Colt DCS to develop four more data centers in Germany totaling 117MW
• Commission sets course for Europe's AI leadership with an ambitious AI Continent Action Plan
• Data Centres Global Report - 2025
• Digital Realty launches first data center in Crete, Greece
• European Commission plans network of AI clusters across continent
• Ericsson CEO faces uncertain future at the helm of vendor - report
• Energy and AI report
• Equinor establishes a new business area and appoints Helge Haugane as new executive vice president from September.
• Giga Computing and Start Campus to Announce Joint Technical Study on Advanced Data Center Technologies at NVIDIA GTC 2025
• SC Capital eyes $5bn Global Switch acquisition as investor appetite for data infrastructure grows
• Yondr Group’s second data center at 100MW London campus goes live
• HOCHTIEF and Palladio Partners Launch Construction of YEXIO Data Center in Bad Lippspringe
• Qarnot secures additional funding from the European Innovation Council Fund to develop the future of European HPC cloud.
• Sparrow Quantum Secures €21.5M ($24M USD) in Series A Funding to Advance Photonic Quantum Chip Production
• UALink Consortium releases 200G 1.0 specification for AI accelerator interconnects

Middle East & Africa

• Axian secures $100m EIB funding for Tanzania, Madagascar broadband expansion
• Awqaf Abu Dhabi considers data centre investment amid push into defensive sectors
• Cassava Technologies plans Africa’s first NVIDIA-powered AI factory.
• Rack Centre launches a 12MW AI-ready facility in Nigeria.
• Four Data Centres Under Construction in Lagos State - Sanwo-Olu

North America

• AI networking chip startup nEye Systems secures $58m funding
• AMD and Google Cloud Introduce New High-Performance Virtual Machines Powered by 5th Gen EPYC Processors
• BluSky AI Inc. Introduces Modular Data Center Solutions to Power the AI Era
• 5C Group Formed as Hypertec Cloud Acquires 5C Data Centers, Creating One of the Largest AI Digital Infrastructure Providers in North America
• CyrusOne breaks ground on Fort Worth data center campus in Texas
• Developer proposes a $2.1 billion, 17.2 million sq ft data center campus in Archbald, Pennsylvania
• Galaxy Digital pivots from crypto to AI - signs 200MW deal with CoreWeave
• Google's Sundar Pichai recommits to $75bn spend on data centers
• Google deploys AI to speed up connections at PJM, largest US power grid
• MARA Energizes Full 25 MW Micro Data Center Initiative Powered by Associated Natural Gas
• Musk's xAI data centre allegedly running illegal gas turbines
• Nvidia Cleared To Sell H20 AI Chips To China As Trump Backs Off
• Plans for 300,000 sq ft data center put forward in Conway, Arkansas
• TierPoint Completes New $500 Million Securitization Financing
• TXO expands in the US with the addition of AirWay Group
• Unnamed cloud company acquires 300 acres in industrial park outside Reno, Nevada
• US utilities grapple with Big Tech's massive power demands for data centers
• 900MW data center campus proposed outside Macon, Georgia

Asia Pacific

• GreenSquareDC files to upgrade and expand Sydney data center site
• Metavisio, Thomson Computing, and BKB Energy to build 260 MW data center in South Korea.
• Goodman files application for ‘Project Mars’ 90MW data center campus at Lane Cove West, Sydney
• Empyrion Digital enters Thailand with BOI approval for 12MW data center.
• NBCC, RailTel sign pact to develop data centre projects in India.
• GLP sets up RMB 2.6 billion AUM maiden data center fund

Industry Trends

1. AI Infrastructure Growth Hyperscale operators are investing heavily in AI-ready facilities, driving demand for sustainable energy solutions and advanced cooling technologies. AI is projected to significantly increase data center energy consumption by 2028. (Source: TechTarget)
2. Sustainability Initiatives Companies are adopting clean energy sources, including nuclear and solar power, to meet growing computational demands of AI models. The use of nuclear energy is gaining traction as a renewable source. (Source: Data Center World)
3. Custom Silicon Development Enterprises are partnering with chipmakers to optimize hardware for advanced AI reasoning and multimodal systems integration. This trend is crucial for improving AI performance and efficiency.
4. Rise of Agentic AI Agentic AI, characterized by greater proactiveness and less need for human supervision, is emerging as a significant trend in 2025. It promises to transform various sectors by automating complex tasks. (Source: Kellton)

Upcoming Events

• Data Center World 2025: April 14-17, Washington, D.C. Focuses on AI integration and sustainable data centers.
• France-Egypt Investment Forum: Discusses AI innovation and investment opportunities.

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