A Russian drone struck a business centre in Kyiv's Solomianskyi district on September 25, killing four people and injuring seven, while damaging a data center belonging to telecom firm Datagroup. Datagroup said no employees were hurt and customer data was safe, with services shifted to backup sites. Russia's defence ministry confirmed it targeted the facility, alleging it processed military intelligence, and separately claimed strikes on other providers including New Telco, United DC, Kyivstar and Parkovyi, with Ukraine's digital ministry reporting about 100,000 households lost internet access after related attacks.
Russia has begun striking data centers and telecom infrastructure across Ukraine, including a Kyiv facility hit by a drone that killed four people. Russia says it targeted Datagroup and other providers such as New-Telco, United DC, Kyivstar and Parkovyi, claiming military use, while Ukrainian officials say the strikes have knocked out internet access for about 100,000 households.
Construction of data centers and related infrastructure is fueling demand for electricians, HVAC technicians, welders, pipefitters and line workers, according to labor market researchers. ZipRecruiter's Nicole Bachaud found the mean minimum salary for data center jobs jumped 125.1% year-over-year to nearly $208,000, while welder and pipefitter postings rose 164%. Jobs for the Future's Maria Flynn said apprentice technicians can earn $40,000-$60,000, with experienced electricians topping $100,000.
New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection fined the DataOne data center in Vineland $1 million after inspectors found it running 62 gas-powered generators without state approval, according to Gothamist. NJDEP commissioner Ed Potosnak called it the largest enforcement action ever taken against a data center in the state. The facility, backed by Microsoft funding, is still under construction as part of a $17 billion project.
Despite the U.S.-China AI rivalry, some Chinese companies are pursuing business in America's booming AI data center sector. Brightray, an AI infrastructure firm whose sole manufacturer is China's PrefabDC, says U.S. demand outpaces China's, where AI data center numbers trail far behind—449 versus 5,427 in the U.S. as of 2025, per Stanford HAI data. U.S. tech giants are projected to spend roughly $765 billion on AI infrastructure this year, dwarfing China's five-year, $295 billion government commitment to data center buildout.
Crusoe has ended its agreement to buy 29 of Boom Supersonic's 42-megawatt Superpower gas turbines, a deal worth $1.25 billion with deliveries originally set to start in 2027. Boom CEO Blake Scholl confirmed the split on X, saying turbines are no longer part of Crusoe's near-term power plans for sites like its Abilene, Texas campus. Crusoe confirmed to TechCrunch it is no longer working with Boom.
British AI cloud company Nscale announced a $3.36 billion convertible financing round on Friday, led by hedge fund Third Point. Of that, $2.36 billion is available immediately, with another $1 billion coming from Nvidia in mid-November; the notes will convert to equity once Nscale's planned IPO closes.
Seven-month data on the US grid through July 2026 shows electricity use rising about 2 percent year over year, down from 3 percent growth over the same period last year, despite rising data-center and EV/heat-pump demand. Solar power generation, which had been growing more than 30 percent annually in many quarters, is showing a smaller increase so far this year.
A commentary argues that artificial general intelligence has effectively arrived, describing it as a threshold where machines can reason across domains and act with meaningful autonomy rather than a state of perfection or superintelligence. The author points to a recently released model, called Astra, as an example that has crossed this threshold, while noting that even more capable systems are already in development.
Google plans to send a refrigerator-sized test satellite called MWP aboard a SpaceX Transporter 18 rideshare flight on Oct. 1, built in partnership with satellite imaging company Planet. The solar-powered craft is part of Google's Project Suncatcher initiative and is meant to test whether AI chips, including TPUs, can withstand launch and operate in orbit, rather than perform substantial computing tasks.
Google will launch a prototype satellite carrying its Tensor Processing Units next week as part of Project Suncatcher, a research effort into running AI computing clusters in space. The satellite, launching with Planet Labs aboard a SpaceX Transporter-18 mission, will test how the chips withstand launch forces, radiation and temperature extremes, along with a heat-pipe cooling system suited for vacuum conditions.
Oracle sent a force majeure notice to lender Blue Owl Capital over a $18 billion hyperscale data center in New Mexico that is part of Trump's Stargate AI initiative, according to Bloomberg. The move shields Oracle from liability tied to missing certain development permits, as the facility, meant to run on 2.45 gigawatts of power, faces delays after Oracle scrapped a planned natural gas plant and pivoted to unproven solid oxide fuel cell technology.
GoKawiil