Data Center News Roundup: AI Market Movers, Global Cable Developments

With data center news moving faster than ever, we want to make it easy for industry professionals to cut through the noise and find the most important stories of the week. 

The Data Center Knowledge News Roundup brings you the latest news and developments across the data center industry – from investments and mergers to security threats and industry trends. 

To keep up to date with all things data centers, subscribe to the Data Center Knowledge newsletter to get content straight to your inbox. 

AI Movers and Shakers 

AI data center news showed no sign of slowing this week, as a raft of new vendor-led announcements hit the market. 

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has partnered with Nvidia to build what the company describes as a “turnkey” AI private cloud solution that gives enterprises everything they need to quickly and easily deploy generative AI applications. 

HPE Private Cloud AI integrates Nvidia’s GPUs, networking, and AI Enterprise software platform with HPE’s servers and storage, all managed through a centralized management layer in the HPE GreenLake cloud. 

Meanwhile, Dell Technologies shares rose on Thursday after chief executive officer Michael Dell said the company is building a “Dell AI factory” for Elon Musk’s startup xAI alongside Nvidia Corporation.  

Related:Could Algae Be the Key to Data Center Sustainability?

Nvidia, the computer chip maker at the center of the artificial intelligence boom, continued its own spectacular stock market rise, this week eclipsing Microsoft and Apple to become the world’s most valuable public company. 

Pulling the Plug 

In infrastructure news this week, three of Vietnam’s five offshore cables suffered a full or partial outage, slowing internet speeds nationwide, state media reported. 

Two of the affected cables are intercontinental systems, the Asia Pacific Gateway and the Asia Africa Europe 1. The third, the Tata TGN Intra Asia Cable, which runs from Singapore to Japan, experienced an “incident” on its Singapore link, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported earlier this week. 

It’s thought that the loss of service resulted from cable breaks caused by a fishing boat or anchor. 

From fiber optics to natural gas infrastructure, construction of the much-delayed Mountain Valley Pipeline is now complete. Gas is set to flow through the beleaguered pipeline after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission gave its approval late Tuesday, AP News reported. 

Despite the delays, many will welcome the news. The pipeline, extending from northwestern West Virginia to southern Virginia, is deemed crucial for meeting the tech industry’s surging power demands driven by AI. 

Related:New Data Center Developments: June 2024

In Oregon, Amazon will no longer be tapping into a controversial natural gas pipeline to power one of its future data centers. 

According to a report in the Seattle Times this week, Amazon had planned to connect its data centers in Boardman, Oregon, to TC Energy network. However, this plan reportedly conflicted with the tech giant's climate pledge to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. 

Maryland in Focus 

The recently signed Critical Infrastructure Streamlining Act will make the state of Maryland more competitive as an alternative to North Virginia, experts told Data Center Knowledge. 

Last month, Maryland Governor Wes Moore signed the legislation, which relieves data centers, hospitals, and other critical infrastructure from state regulations reserved for facilities looking to construct high-capacity generating stations. 

Read our full report to find out why the state is now poised to potentially take some business from the northern Virginia area, the most popular location in the country for data centers. 

Going Green 

Finally, Data Center Knowledge writer Soni Brown asks: Could algae be the key to data center sustainability?

Brown took a closer look at a pilot project from Data4Group, in collaboration with the Université of Paris-Saclay, that aims to cultivate biomass by harnessing surplus heat and captured carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, potentially opening up new possibilities for circular energy in data centers. 

“Technologically, there is little risk in terms of feasibility and workability,” said Patrick Duvaut, vice president of the Université Paris-Saclay. “It’s only a question of engineering. This is a first. Nobody has done that before.” 

Read the full article here. 

Other Great Reads on DCK This Week 

KKR, Singtel to Invest $1.3B in Data Center Firm STT GDC. STT GDC is one of Asia’s largest data center operators with more than 95 facilities across 11 geographies. 

Data Center, AI Load Growth Could Threaten Grid Reliability. Although AI tools could eventually enable more efficient electricity generation and transmission, near-term AI demand could slow the energy transition, according to a new report. 

Amazon Commits Another €10B to German Cloud, Logistics Network. Most of the investment will focus on the Frankfurt region as the cloud computing giant expands its data center network. 

AMD Investigates Potential Cyber-Attack by IntelBroker Hacking Group. The prolific hackers claim to have stolen large amounts of sensitive company data. 

Omdia: AWS Dominated $57B Cloud Storage Services Market in 2023. The cloud storage services market is projected to reach $128 billion by 2028.