If a utility can serve more data centers without having to build new transmission lines, it can actually lower power bills for consumers, and utilities can use the savings to improve their infrastructure.
Yes, AI data centers use a lot of power. But there’s much more to the story.
Grid constraints are in the headlines. But innovative AI tools are finding untapped power capacity,
CEO Amit Narayan shares how GridCARE's technology found 400 megawatts of capacity in one of the nation’s busiest grids, enabling enough new power for 5 new data centers.
youtu.be/OcxupZZsGj0?...
Also in today's 5 Notable Data Center Links:
- Vertiv acquires modular structure manufacturer
- Microsoft lines up 3,200 acres for Wyoming data center
- What the data center backlash means for underwriting
- Jargon at the Intersection of energy and data centers
AI Inference Specialist Cerebras Files for IPO
Yesterday Cerebras submitted its SEC filing to go public on Nasdaq under the symbol CBRS. AI inference is emerging as a major opportunity, as highlighted in Cerebras’ partnerships with AWS and OpenAI.
datacenterrichness.substack.com/p/5-notable-...
SPANs new XFRA platform pairs outdoor compute modules filled with NVIDIA GPUs with SPAN’s smart electrical panels, tapping unused power in homes to run inference workloads.
New: A Backyard Network of Liquid-Cooled GPUs
Smart electrical panel maker SPAN plans to place liquid-cooled GPU nodes at residential homes to deliver AI inference capacity.
SPAN is partnering with NVIDIA and homebuilder PulteGroup.
datacenterrichness.substack.com/p/liquid-coo...
An AI-slop Clara Peller yelling "Where's the GPUs?"
Might have just dated myself with this reference.
We keep calling them “data centers.”
But the design brief has changed.
Factory-built modules.
Liquid-cooled systems.
Power as the constraint.
This isn’t a building anymore.
🎧 Compu Dynamics CEO Steve Altizer on the shift: www.datacenterfrontier.com/machine-lear...
#AIInfrastructure #DataCenters
Rack density jumped 70% in a single year - from 16 KW to 27 KW per rack on average - in the AFCOM State of the Data Center survey, which has been tracking density trends for a decade.
Here's a look at this and other insights for 2026:
datacenterrichness.substack.com/p/the-state-...
The new AllBirds will "seek to acquire" these GPUs? NVIDIA: "Sorry, hyperscalers and neoclouds. This $50 million in GPU inventory is going to that bird shoe company!"
A photo of a white lighthouse with a black top standing among green trees and palm plants during sunset. The sky features strikingly layered, wavy clouds with shades of blue and yellow.
One of the most surreal skies I have ever witnessed, as vibrantly blue undulatus asperatus clouds rolled over the St. Mark's Lighthouse at sunset to create this dreamy scene. #Photography
More details in this week's 5 Notable Data Center Links, along with:
- Neocloud Market to Approach $400 Billion by 2031
- Blackstone Invests in Rowan Digital Infrastructure
- "No Data Centers" - Shots fired at councilman's home
The Data Behind Amazon's Bullish Thesis on AI
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy offered insights on the economics of AI in 2026, and why hyperscalers are all-in. “We have never seen a technology more quickly adopted than AI,” writes Jassy.
datacenterrichness.substack.com/p/5-notable-...
Amid intense demand for AI capacity, hyperscale players continue to diversify their data center procurement. CoreWeave has expanded its capacity deal with Meta from $14B to $21B. Here's a look at what this deal tells us about the AI capacity crunch:
datacenterrichness.substack.com/p/coreweave-...
Companies building new factories to support the data center supply chain include Vertiv, Schneider Electric, Eaton, GE Vernova, Corning Incorporated, DHL and Crusoe. They're creating manufacturing jobs from Ohio to Colorado, including communities with no data center presence.
The AI boom is creating a secondary wave of industrial development, as vendors of power and cooling equipment open new factories.
The supply chain buildout extends the economic development impact of the AI boom beyond data center campuses.
datacenterrichness.substack.com/p/new-factor...
Perhaps the greatest accidental marketing moment in the Universe. #ArtemisII #nutella
Last week in Hickory, North Carolina, Corning Incorporated broke ground on a new manufacturing facility for optical cable, a key element of a deal with Meta worth up to $6 billion.
Here's a look at how the rise of generative AI is changing data center networking, and how that translates into real-world economic impact in a North Carolina region that's a historic hub for cabling, and now home to a growing hyperscale cloud cluster.
datacenterrichness.substack.com/p/why-fiber-...
Also featured in today's 5 Notable Daat Center Links:
- Are data centers creating "heat islands?"
- Could data centers become trickier to insure?
- Emerald AI raises $25 million for grid-flexible data centers.
Is There a GPU Rental Squeeze?
SemiAnalysis says demand for GPUs has surged as new AI tools have improved, making it harder to procure GPU capacity. The firm says the 1-year cost of renting an H100 GPU has risen 40% over the past 6 months.
datacenterrichness.substack.com/p/5-notable-...
Footage captured from passengers on an airliner above Florida, showing the exact moment the Artemis II mission lifts off.
More AI hardware is moving into the networks of content delivery and telecom providers.
NVIDIA has launched its AI Grid initiative, partnering with Akamai, Comcast, T-Mobile and AT&T to speed the delivery of low-latency services, including AI Inference.
open.substack.com/pub/datacent...
Equinix is scaling global workforce programs to address a growing talent shortage as AI-driven data center demand accelerates.
Read more ➡️ www.datacenterknowledge.com/training-cer...
Google is also a key player in a broader effort by more than 65 tech and energy companies to enable more flexible loads. The EPRI Flex MOSAIC initiative seeks to define a standard for data centers to trade operational flexibility for faster interconnection.
Google has reached a major milestone, announcing that its global data center fleet can now provide more than 1 gigawatt (GW) of flexible demand response capacity, which can enable faster “time to power” for data centers.
datacenterrichness.substack.com/p/google-hit...
Nic Bustamante, the Chief Data Center Officer, shares how ExoWatt's thermal solar modules are effectively a "box of hot rocks" that combine old-school tech - Fresnel concentrating lenses, and the Stirling engine - to create a module that provides solar power and energy storage.
Exowatt: A New Take on Solar Data Centers
Are solar-powered data centers ready for AI scale? At a time when natural gas and SMRs are driving the discussion on onsite power, startup Exowatt is advancing a renewable solution.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPdI...
Utility partners on the NVIDIA/Emerald AI initiative include The AES Corporation, Constellation, Invenergy, NextEra Energy, Inc., Vistra Corp. and Nscale Energy.
