Virginia’s data center tax exemptions cost the state $1.6 billion in lost revenue for fiscal year 2025, a massive 118% increase from the year before. The program, which offers breaks for investments as low as $70 million, is now under scrutiny as its cost dwarfs all other state incentives.
Fusion power is moving from science project to construction site. Commonwealth Fusion Systems is building its SPARC demonstration plant, using AI from Siemens and Nvidia, and aims for first plasma energy in 2027.
The global memory market is on a tear, with revenue expected to jump by over 20% in 2025 and a staggering 40%+ in 2026. AI-driven demand for High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) and shortages in general-purpose chips are creating a perfect storm for growth.
The explosive growth of power-hungry data centers is pushing parts of the U.S. power grid toward failure. Utilities want the ability to cut them off during shortages, but tech companies like Amazon and Google are pushing back, arguing they need constant uptime for critical services.
An AI chatbot built to help Alaskans with probate court forms has been stuck in development for over a year. Despite known issues with hallucinations and user annoyance, its team says it’s ready for a public launch in late January after dramatically lowering expectations.
Meta is internally testing a simple basketball game for Threads direct messages. The feature, spotted by a reverse engineer, aims to let friends compete within chats. It’s part of a broader push to add features and catch up to rivals.
Structured, an AI-native partner marketing platform, has appointed enterprise software veteran Stacey Epstein as its new CEO. Founder Daniel Nissan is stepping down but will remain an advisor. The company is also launching its next-generation platform in Q1 2026.
Belkin is taking on wireless video with a new plug-and-play HDMI dongle. The ConnectAir system promises a 40-meter range, even through walls, and can switch between up to eight paired transmitters.
Fintech startup Kontigo is refunding customers after a hack stole $340,905 in stablecoins. This comes right after JPMorgan Chase froze its accounts, citing a surge in chargebacks. It’s a rough look for the stablecoin sector’s safety claims.
A year ago, DeepSeek’s R1 model triggered a massive sell-off, wiping nearly $600 billion from Nvidia’s value in a single day. Since then, the Chinese lab has released seven new models, but none have moved the market needle. The initial shock has worn off, and the narrative has fundamentally changed.
