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The Data Center Rundown

Aug 26, 2026

 
Orbital Computing Infrastructure

Starcloud closed a $250 million Series A extension at a $2.3 billion valuation to scale artificial intelligence on orbital data centers, securing substantial funding for space computing.

Read at Data Center Dynamics→

 

Should AI on orbital data centers be prioritized with $250M in funding?

SpaceX intends to launch a Vera Rubin NVL72 rack-scale system into orbit within the next year.

Read at The Register→

 

Nvidia's ultra-low-latency AI inference LPX racks have entered full production, with Neocloud Nebius being an early adopter for improved AI agent responsiveness.

Read at Data Center Dynamics→

 
Grid-Responsive Power Strategies

Nano Nuclear and Tillman Digital are planning to deploy micro nuclear reactors at US AI data centers, with a non-binding deal for up to 6GW by 2040.

Read at Data Center Dynamics→

 

Should micro nuclear reactors be deployed at US AI data centers?

During DCD Talks, Stiven Smith of Cummins discussed natural gas as a bridge to AI scale, addressing grid constraints and flexible power strategies for data centers.

Read at Data Center Dynamics→

Lancium is advancing its grid-responsive artificial intelligence data center model through a partnership with Nvidia, securing agreements for gigawatt-scale facilities.

Read at Data Center Knowledge→

 
Custom Silicon and Hardware

SiFive is advancing its development server to promote the adoption of RISC-V architecture within the data center, targeting broader infrastructure integration.

Read at The Register→

 
Advanced Liquid Cooling Adoption

Advanced liquid cooling techniques like direct-to-chip and immersion are becoming essential as artificial intelligence workloads drive data center rack densities beyond air cooling capabilities.

Read at Data Center Knowledge→

 
Capital Financing and Expansion

AI cloud firm Nebius secured $5.75 billion in debt financing to construct new data centers and expand its artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Read at Bisnow→

 

McKinsey reports that enterprise artificial intelligence adoption is progressing towards demonstrating a return on investment, signaling maturing AI capabilities in businesses.

Read at The Register→

 
Chatter
The view from Reddit
“Update 8 months later - Solo IT tech”

An IT professional reflects on a challenging 8-month tenure as a solo tech in a chaotic environment, detailing the lack of policy implementation, cost-cutting measures, and poor management, ultimately leading to their resignation and a decision to take a break for upskilling.

Read at r/sysadmin→

“I'm about to have to do everything, and I have questions.”

A lone IT professional is tasked with setting up a new Microsoft tenant and managing existing Cisco network hardware for a newly independent company of under 70 employees, seeking advice on cloud-only strategy, network equipment, ISP options, best practices, and essential tools like Intune and a ticketing system.

Read at r/sysadmin→

“Out of Hours access. Best practice.”

A sole sysadmin for a small company seeks best practices for out-of-hours access, weighing the risks of granting elevated privileges to their daily account versus managing a separate global admin account on their personal phone.

Read at r/sysadmin→

 

The Environmental Protection Agency is considering removing the requirement for public notification of polluting data center operations.

Read at The Register→

 

Should the EPA drop public notice requirements for polluting data centers?

 
Regulatory and Interconnection Hurdles

Texas Governor Greg Abbott halted 474 gigawatts of data center interconnection requests on August 3, impacting the ERCOT grid under a new curtailment order and December report.

Read at Global Data Center Hub→

Texas faces a significant gap between announced data center capacity requests and operational facilities, highlighting the challenge of bringing planned projects to fruition.

Read at Global Data Center Hub→

 

AI data centers require operational efficiencies and strategic planning akin to Formula One racing teams to manage complex infrastructure demands effectively.

Read at Data Center POST→

 

Selecting the optimal uninterruptible power supply for data centers necessitates careful consideration of load requirements, desired runtime, battery technology, and overall cost factors.

Read at Data Center POST→

 

Meta launched a $1 billion fund for data center communities, but the allocation formula and proof of commitment remain unclear, with a deadline of 2030.

Read at Global Data Center Hub→

 

Should Meta's community compact for data centers be trusted?

 

The primary obstacle for data centers is shifting from solely increasing power capacity to addressing more complex challenges within existing power frameworks.

Read at Data Center POST→

 

Nvidia's Ohio data center guaranties for OpenAI leases have specific conditions, influenced by an SEC letter reducing sponsor risk retention and QTS pricing near 7.63%.

Read at Global Data Center Hub→

 

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