Countries including Japan see the ability to control chips, data centers and AI models as directly related to national resilience in a landscape dominated by U.S. and Chinese technology. Sakura Internet's chief said the company may need to hike its capital spending by nearly seven times its initial plan to keep up with artificial intelligence demand in Japan. The data center operator is eyeing an allocation of as much as ¥20 billion to ¥30 billion ($125 million to $190 million) this fiscal year, founder and CEO Kunihiro Tanaka said. That's above the ¥4.4 billion in the Osaka-based company's official capital expenditure plan announced last month. "AI server usage rates are 80% to 90%," Tanaka, 48, said in an interview.

NextEra Energy is seeking to acquire Dominion Energy in an all-stock deal valued at about $67bn, creating a massive power company as the energy needs of artificial intelligence (AI) drive demand higher in the United States. It is one of the biggest proposed mergers so far this year and would create the world's largest regulated electric utility business by market capitalisation, the companies said on Monday. The region has a fast-growing population and the world's biggest data centre hub, which is in Virginia. The deal will enable a swifter build-out of power infrastructure to deliver electricity to data centres proposing to connect to NextEra and Dominion, which total about 130 gigawatts of electricity demand, the companies' executives said. One gigawatt can power about 750,000 homes. The merger builds on NextEra's efforts to tap into surging demand for supplying electricity to data centres developed by Big Tech, largely for training and rolling out AI technologies.

Tata-ASML deal: How significant is it for India's semiconductor push? India's Tata Electronics has signed a deal with the Dutch technology giant ASML (Advanced Semiconductor Materials Lithography) to build India's first front-end semiconductor fabrication plant as New Delhi pushes to develop a domestic semiconductor manufacturing base. Front-end manufacturing refers to the building of microscopic circuits onto a blank silicon wafer using specialised lithographic machines. ASML is a pioneer of lithographic technology used in the mass production of microchips across the world. Semiconductor chips power modern technology and are critical for everything from smartphones and cars to artificial intelligence systems and defence technology.

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Truth Predict was supposed to be the Trump family's biggest leap yet into prediction markets. Now it's looking more like a tiptoe. The odds that the Trump family will launch a full-fledged prediction market product this year just plummeted. Last year, the Trump Media and Technology Group announced Truth Predict, a partnership with the cryptocurrency company Crypto.com. The initial announcement touted Truth Predict as a "new product" that would allow Truth Social users to make trades on sports, inflation, elections, and more through an "embedded" prediction market service.

SoftBank will partner with South Korea's Cosmos Lab and DeltaX to enable mass production of large-scale battery cells from the fiscal year starting next April. SoftBank Group's mobile unit said it plans to begin large-scale battery cell manufacturing at its plant in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, to address growing power demand for AI services. SoftBank Corp. will partner with South Korea's Cosmos Lab and DeltaX to enable mass production from the fiscal year starting next April, the company said in a statement Monday. The aim is to output energy storage systems at a scale of one gigawatt-hour per year, SoftBank said, which would make it one of the largest facilities in Japan, according to data from BloombergNEF. SoftBank could scale up to a capacity of several GWh, Bloomberg reported last month.

Megan Rapinoe, in a shock to no one, backs Angel Reese skipping interviews as'taking power back' White House calls out Newsom as California girls' track and field controversy reignites Here's why the coaches association's 24-team College Football Playoff could ruin the sport Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown tells ESPN's Stephen A Smith to'be quiet and retire' President Trump on $1,000 World Cup ticket prices: 'I wouldn't pay it either, to be honest' Pirates vs. Diamondbacks betting preview targets the under as both offenses go cold in series Former LSU coach Brian Kelly uses AI to prepare for job interviews, proving he's just like the rest of us Mark Hamill is a'miserable human being': Sage Steele AOC is in'favor' of'robbing' the American people: Tiffany Smiley Iran's playbook is to talk and then fight, Lt Gen Keith Kellogg says Watters: If Iran doesn't sign this fast, the US will be a lot more violent US waits for Iran's response on peace proposal Authorities try to'connect the dots' on hantavirus infections Jesse Watters: Spencer Pratt is a'charismatic, common-sense populist' Greg Gutfeld: Dana White laughs off the'toxic masculinity thing' OutKick Another LIV golfer remains committed to staying put: 'I have full faith in the future of LIV' Thomas Detry says players'really love it' and calls on the entire roster to show cohesion and support Greg Palkot breaks down the announcement that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund will cease funding for the LIV Golf tour, putting its future in jeopardy. LIV Golf now seeks new investors while players attempt to rejoin the PGA Tour. Out of seemingly nowhere, the future of the LIV Golf Tour has been put in serious jeopardy. The breakaway golf tour previously relied on funding from the Saudi Arabia-backed Public Investment Fund to back extremely high purses and bring in top players with massive signing bonuses. But that funding is coming to an end after the 2026 season, throwing all of that progress into jeopardy.

To stop children from bypassing its age checks, Meta is revamping its age-verification tools with an AI system that analyzes images and videos for "visual cues," such as height and bone structure. Meta is beefing up its age-verification mechanisms with an AI system that analyzes images and videos on Instagram and Facebook for "visual cues," such as height and bone structure, to identify and delete accounts of users under the age of 13. The company announced the move amid a wave of cases in which hundreds of children have managed to evade social network access restrictions, even through simple tricks such as drawing on a mustache. The new approach is part of a series of measures Meta adopted as part of an AI-based security strategy designed to correct the limitations of traditional methods, which rely heavily on self-reported age. With this change, the company seeks to reduce the ease with which minors access platforms that, in theory, are restricted to them.

In an unexpected turn, the two companies signed a deal for Anthropic to use computing resources from Elon Musk's xAI. Anthropic and Elon Musk's SpaceX said on Wednesday that the two entities have signed an agreement for Anthropic to use computing resources from xAI's data center in Memphis, Tennessee. It's the latest tie up in an industry that is scrambling to find enough computers to run complex AI software. SpaceX and xAI were previously separate companies, but the two merged earlier this year. The combined entity, also owned by Musk, is called SpaceXAI.

Xbox is ditching Microsoft's Copilot AI Xbox is ditching Microsoft's Copilot AI Microsoft announced plans to start stripping Copilot out of select Windows apps in March after criticism of the company's mishandling of its operating system reached a fever pitch. As it turns out though, Windows isn't the only place where you'll see less Copilot: Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has announced that the AI assistant will also be removed from the gaming brand's mobile app and Xbox consoles. Under previous Xbox leadership, Copilot was introduced as a sort of in-game assistant that would be aware of what you're playing and able to offer contextual advice based on what's on your screen. Microsoft launched a beta version of the experience by adding Copilot to the Xbox mobile app in May 2025, but based on a GDC presentation the company gave in March, the plan was to also bring Copilot to Xbox consoles later this year. Those plans apparently don't align with where Xbox is headed, Sharma said in a post announcing new hires to the Xbox division.