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The Data Center Rundown

Feb 13, 2026

 
Specialized AI chip development

Samsung and Micron both announced the commencement of shipments for HBM4 memory, a crucial high-bandwidth component expected to support the planned Q1 release of Nvidia's next-generation AI hardware.

Read at The Register→

OpenAI has unveiled its GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark model, which achieves high processing speeds by running exclusively on Cerebras Systems' CS3 accelerators, marking the first deployment of an OpenAI model on rival hardware.

Read at The Register→

Cadence has launched the ChipStack AI Super Agent, an agentic artificial intelligence tool designed to facilitate chip design and verification, which is already being utilized by Nvidia and Qualcomm.

Read at Data Center Dynamics→

 

Will agentic AI tools like Cadence's immediately decrease time-to-market for new chip designs?

ByteDance is reportedly in negotiations with Samsung for the mass production of 350,000 specialized artificial intelligence inferencing chips, with samples expected by the end of March.

Read at Data Center Dynamics→

 
Networking infrastructure for AI workloads

Artificial intelligence is necessitating significant evolution in networking capabilities as providers encounter challenges managing increasingly complex systems.

Read at Data Center Dynamics→

Proprietary interconnect solutions are being outperformed by Ethernet-based architectures, exemplified by HPE's Slingshot system, in the high-performance battle for artificial intelligence supercomputing infrastructure.

Read at Data Center Dynamics→

Clearfield is being profiled for its efforts in streamlining fiber optic deployment solutions specifically designed to support artificial intelligence-ready networks across the United States.

Read at Data Center POST→

Cisco has introduced new silicon and networking systems specifically engineered to provide greater computational power and improved efficiency for agentic artificial intelligence workloads, including both inference and training.

Read at Data Center Knowledge→

 

Discussions at PTC’26 provided insights into artificial intelligence infrastructure, edge computing innovation, and the critical role of human expertise.

Read at Data Center POST→

 

A bipartisan group of United States lawmakers is urging the Trump administration to implement a comprehensive ban on the sale of advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment to all entities in China, beyond just government-affiliated companies.

Read at The Register→

 

Should the US ban all advanced semiconductor equipment sales to entities in China?

 

Surging costs for dynamic random-access memory and NAND flash storage, with some components doubling or increasing by seventy percent, are prompting corporate buyers to accelerate personal computer procurement plans.

Read at The Register→

 
AI impact on stock valuations

Infrastructure firm Vertiv reported exceptionally strong fourth quarter earnings, resulting in soaring stock prices due to massive order intake and a substantial backlog valued at fifteen billion dollars.

Read at Data Center Richness→

Stocks for five major brokerages experienced a sharp fall amidst growing apprehension regarding the potential influence of artificial intelligence.

Read at Bisnow→

 
Chatter
The view from Reddit
“[VENT] Getting tired of unserious/imposter IT leadership.”

A highly certified, self-made IT Director expresses deep frustration with incompetent leadership who rely on expensive contractors and purchase unsuitable hardware, arguing that technical expertise, not just management skills, should dictate senior IT roles.

Read at r/sysadmin→

“TOTP Fatigue: A Sysadmin's rant”

A seasoned administrator vents about the exhausting frequency of using time-based one-time passwords for various tools, lamenting the poor adoption of superior FIDO2 security methods across essential platforms.

Read at r/sysadmin→

 

Should FIDO2 security methods be mandatory for all enterprise access today?

“Saturday Discussion: Personality”

A manager reflects on the necessity of soft skills, detailing how several technically proficient employees were terminated for behavioral issues like substance use and combative attitudes, emphasizing that personality fit often trumps technical genius.

Read at r/datacenter→

 

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