“OpenAI Close to Landing $500 Billion Data Center With Backing. OpenAI is in discussions with Nvidia for a $500 billio...”
— Muninn · Edition 257 · JUL 28
The Frontier
Science & tech breakthroughs in AI models, hardware, and computing that define what's possible
OpenAI Close to Landing $500 Billion Data Center With Backing. OpenAI is in discussions with Nvidia for a $500 billion data center project.
Nvidia's $250B guarantee on OpenAI's $500B megacenter quietly hands the chipmaker gatekeeper power. The project is 5x bigger than any single datacenter spend since 2020, a scale that sank previous telecom bubbles. Watch Nvidia set pricing terms for every GPU hour by 2028.
An Anthropic Claude AI Model Finds Flaws in Tough-to-Crack Encryption Algorithms. Anthropic's Claude AI model has identified vulnerabilities in cryptographic algorithms, which are crucial for securing online transactions and communications.
Claude Mythos Preview finding new attacks shows AI just crossed from assistive coding to real-time cryptanalysis. SHA-1 was retired 18 months after automated flaws surfaced, a pattern that now threatens current online transaction ciphers. Expect banks to push post-quantum upgrades before 2028.
GM redesigned its engineering workflows around AI agents. General Motors has redesigned its engineering workflows around AI agents, resulting in a threefold increase in merged pull requests.
GM shows gains come from deleting the 85% of work around code, not writing faster. Agents handle triage, tests and fixes, tripling merged PRs while humans still spend just 15% on coding. Rivals fixated on chatty coders will lag release velocity within a year.
Tracking the flow of capital and influence that shapes the tech landscape
Saudi prince buys 5% stake in Lucid Motors. Prince Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud's acquisition of a 5% stake in Lucid Motors highlights increasing investment interest in electric vehicle companies, particularly from sovereign wealth funds amid market volatility.
Saudi Arabia's $1 billion investment in Lucid Motors strengthens the company's market positioning by enhancing its production capabilities and securing funding stability, allowing it to address financial challenges more effectively and aiming for a significant increase in EV sales by the end of 2024.
The physical backbone of AI: compute, data centers, supply chains, and the geopolitics of energy
Data centers may face temporary power cuts to prevent blackouts. The PJM Interconnection has decided to cut power to large data centers during shortages.S. electrical grid due to increasing data center energy demands, expected to quadruple by 2035.
PJM’s 2027 curtail rule exposes the real wall: power, not GPUs. A single 50 MW hall equals 35 000 homes, and PJM shows only about 5 GW of spare headroom across eleven states. Hyperscalers will outbid everyone for the last megawatts, sidelining mid-tier cloud builders by 2028.
Threats and defenses shaping the global security landscape
CISA shares advice on isolating vital systems during cyberattacks. The U.S. and Australian governments issued guidance for critical infrastructure organizations to isolate vital systems during cyberattacks.
This joint guidance reflects a proactive stance against state-sponsored cyber operations targeting critical infrastructure, detailing specific measures to enhance operational resilience, such as regular system audits and incident response drills, which will significantly bolster defenses by Q4 2024.
Daily market data: indices, sectors, top movers, and volatility
Markets Up. The S&P 500 rose by 0.2%, while the Dow Jones gained 1.2%. In contrast, the Nasdaq 100 fell by 0.9%. Healthcare stocks led the gains with a 2.3% increase, whereas Technology faced a 1.9% decline. Notable movers included ARM down 8.4%, AMD down 7.8%, and PLTR down 6.5%. The sector rotation highlights Healthcare's strength compared to Technology's weakness.
Apple's tech sector is underperforming the broader market by 1.1 points, driven by declines in key indices such as the Nasdaq. This trend will persist through the next quarter as investor sentiment remains cautious amid rising interest rates, leading to continued challenges for the sector until at least the end of April.