The day’s top headline comes from Amazon, whose 12B investment in Louisiana AI data centers sets a new scale for infrastructure bets, underscoring a competitive race in cloud and AI capacity. Meanwhile, ASML’s EUV light source upgrade signals a radical push to boost chip output despite market headwinds.
Wildcard Desk:
Amazon commits 12B to AI data centers. Amazon’s planned campuses in Louisiana lay the foundation for next-generation AI workloads, sparking a robust arms race in cloud capacity, as detailed in Amazon commits 12B.
ASML boosts its EUV light source. The upgrade to 1000W aims for a 50% chip production boost by 2030, potentially easing industry bottlenecks, as explained in ASML boosts EUV light source.
Market-moving
Crypto.com wins national bank charter nod. Crypto.com secures conditional approval from the OCC to pursue a national trust bank, blurring lines between crypto and traditional finance, as reported in Crypto.com bank charter.
IQM files for IPO at 1.8B valuation. Finnish quantum firm IQM’s public offering move marks a milestone for Europe’s quantum debut, drawing investor attention to next-generation processors, as outlined in IQM files for IPO.
Platform risk
Google bans AI Pro/Ultra subscribers. Google terminates subscriptions routing Gemini via external OAuth to curb compute abuse, highlighting tight controls over third-party integrations, as noted in Google bans AI Pro/Ultra.
Anthropic alleges Chinese IP theft. Anthropic accuses Chinese AI firms of coordinated distillation attacks on Claude, flagging risks around intellectual property misuse and competitive fairness, as described in Anthropic alleges Chinese IP theft.
Strategic signal
OpenAI partners with consulting giants. OpenAI forges multi-year alliances to integrate AI coworkers into enterprises, a strategic play to accelerate adoption and reduce friction, as highlighted in OpenAI partners with consulting giants.
Anthropic CEO summoned to Pentagon. The Pentagon calls on Anthropic’s chief over military usage limits on Claude, signaling increased government scrutiny on AI defense applications, as reported in Anthropic CEO summoned to Pentagon.
Product noise
Nvidia eyes superchip in Windows laptops. Nvidia accelerates its push into system-on-chip solutions for consumer PCs, potentially merging AI power with everyday computing, as detailed in Nvidia superchip push.
OpenAI develops smart speaker with camera. OpenAI is crafting a proactive, camera-equipped smart speaker slated for 2027, aiming to blend voice assistance with visual awareness, as outlined in OpenAI smart speaker in development.
Spotify expands AI-powered Prompted Playlists. Spotify rolls out text-driven playlists to more markets, nudging music curation toward active user interaction, as explained in Spotify expands AI-powered playlists.
Apple stokes March launch rumors. New leaks hint at fresh Macs, iPhones and iPads, fueling anticipation for an event that could redefine hardware and software integration, as noted in Apple March launch rumors.