Y Combinator's newest Demo Day featured a batch skewed heavily toward deep tech, with startups like Atomarine pitching nuclear-powered floating data centers and Dipole Labs building optical networking hardware to cut power waste in AI clusters. TechCrunch surveyed early-stage investors who named nine companies that got flagged repeatedly as the standouts of the cohort. Investors noted the technology felt futuristic, but valuations across the batch were more restrained compared to recent quarters.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-09-13
AI companies are pouring billions into massive data centers and power plants to support 'agents'—AI systems that autonomously execute multi-step tasks rather than simply answering questions. Unlike a single chatbot query, an agent can generate hundreds of self-prompts to complete complex jobs, such as building an entire website over several hours. OpenAI recently touted a swarm of over 10,000 agents exchanging 2.7 million messages to tackle a longstanding math problem, though mathematicians have disputed the significance of that result.
wired.com
· 2026-09-13
A group of former EPA officials, working through the Environmental Protection Network, released a report identifying 30 federal actions since January 2025 that they say weaken environmental protections to speed AI data center construction. They argue this has pushed data centers toward dirtier power sources, worsening pollution exposure even for people who don't live near the facilities, and are calling on Trump to adopt a 'Data Center Health Protection Pledge.'
theverge.com
· 2026-09-12
Insurers and reinsurers are exploring catastrophe bonds to help cover the massive, geographically concentrated value of hyperscale data centers, many of which sit in hurricane- and flood-prone regions. Industry experts told CNBC that while no dedicated data center cat bond has yet been issued, activity is building one step upstream through reinsurance vehicles like quota shares and sidecars as firms work out pricing and capacity.
cnbc.com
· 2026-09-12
The EPA is proposing to eliminate a federal rule requiring states to notify the public and accept comments before approving air-pollution permits for industrial facilities, including data centers and the power plants built to supply them. A separate EPA proposal from last month would also allow developers to begin construction before permits are finalized. These changes come as data centers expand rapidly across the rural South, disproportionately affecting Black communities.
capitalbnews.org
· 2026-09-11
Nscale, a UK-based AI data center company, has named Fidji Simo, who recently departed OpenAI's No. 2 role, to its board of directors. She joins other prominent tech figures including Sheryl Sandberg, Susan Decker and Nick Clegg as the company prepares for a possible public listing this fall.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-09-11
Fidji Simo, a former OpenAI executive, has taken a seat on the board of Nscale, a startup that builds data centers for AI workloads and has raised billions in funding. The move comes as Nscale reportedly prepares for an eventual public listing.
wsj.com
· 2026-09-11
Oracle reported fiscal first-quarter results that topped Wall Street forecasts, with adjusted earnings of $1.92 per share and revenue of $19.35 billion, both above LSEG estimates. Revenue climbed nearly 30% year over year, driven largely by rapid growth in cloud infrastructure as Oracle pushes deeper into AI-related data center buildouts. The company raised its long-term outlook, now projecting $8.10 in adjusted earnings per share on at least $90 billion in revenue for fiscal 2027.
cnbc.com
· 2026-09-10
AI training campuses can swing 70% of their electrical load within milliseconds and disconnect just as abruptly to protect expensive compute hardware, a pattern conventional grid infrastructure was never designed to handle. Analysis of the setup shows the standard power stack—medium-voltage feeds, transformers, and uninterruptible power supplies—fails at three points: undersized battery buffers, converters run in bypass mode that let raw swings and grid transients pass unfiltered, and protection logic built for far smaller loads that trips offline at the worst possible moment. The 2024 Virginia grid disturbance was traced largely to this outdated protection logic disconnecting under stress.
technologyreview.com
· 2026-09-10
Governor Maura Healey signed an executive order requiring data centers with peak demand above 25 megawatts to supply their own clean power meeting state renewable energy standards, or fund new generation or pay into a ratepayer protection fund. The order also discourages communities from signing non-disclosure agreements with developers and pauses a recently enacted data center sales tax exemption while regulators implement the new rules.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-09-09
At the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference, CoreWeave CEO Mike Intrator told CNBC that AI and data center companies have not adequately communicated the advantages of their technology to the public. He argued that community opposition stems less from data centers themselves and more from broader anxiety about the rapid pace of technological change and its uncertain effects on people's lives and children's futures.
cnbc.com
· 2026-09-09
Several U.S. states that previously granted multi-decade tax exemptions to lure data center investments from Amazon, Meta and Google are now reconsidering or rolling back those deals. The reversal follows growing public backlash over the facilities' strain on local resources and limited job creation relative to the tax revenue forgone.
wsj.com
· 2026-09-09
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