04/06/2025 What I Read Last Week
#DigitalInfrastructure news: DOE AI data centers, 4.5GW gas-powered data center, DARPA's Quantum Benchmarking Initiative
Weekly Edition of curated news about Digital Infrastructure
Data Centers
[Link] The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has identified 16 federal sites across the country as potential locations for developing AI-focused data centers, leveraging existing energy infrastructure and expedited permitting for new energy generation, such as nuclear, to meet the growing computational demands of artificial intelligence. The DOE has issued a Request for Information (RFI) to gather insights on development strategies, aiming to have these AI infrastructure projects operational by the end of 2027.
[Link] The Homer City Generating Station, once Pennsylvania's largest coal-fired power plant, is being transformed into a $10 billion natural gas-powered data center campus capable of delivering up to 4.5 GW of power for AI and high-performance computing, with construction set to begin in 2025 and operations expected by 2027.
[Link] Northstar Technologies Group has acquired a majority stake in Compass Quantum, a subsidiary of Compass Datacenters, to fuel its next growth phase. This move allows Compass Quantum, also known as Compass Edgepoint Systems, to operate as a business unit under Northstar, split between its Federal and Enterprise and Defense divisions.
[Link] Global investment company GLP announced the closing of its first digital infrastructure-focused strategy, the "GLP China IDC Income Fund I," with RMB 2.6 billion (approximately $360 million USD) in assets under management. The fund will acquire a fully operational, high-performance data center in the Greater Beijing region, built to Tier III+ standards with a focus on sustainability and energy efficiency, and fully leased to a leading e-commerce company.
[Link] CyrusOne announced plans to build its second data center in Milan, named MIL2, which will deliver 54 megawatts of IT capacity to 18,000 square meters of technical space over three floors.
Quantum Computing
[Link] DARPA Eyes Companies Targeting Industrially Useful Quantum Computers. Nearly 20 quantum computing companies have been chosen to enter the initial stage of DARPA's Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI), in which they will characterize their unique concepts for creating a useful, fault-tolerant quantum computer within a decade.
IonQ announced they were selected. IonQ also announced that IonQ Forte Enterprise, the recently commissioned quantum computer, is now officially available to customers globally through Amazon Braket, a managed quantum computing service from Amazon Web Services (AWS), as well as the IonQ Quantum Cloud.
Alice & Bob announced they were selected.
Atom Computing announced they were selected.
Several others such as Rigetti Computing, IBM, HPE, Photonic, Quantinuum, Quantum Motion, and Xanadu were also listed.
I’ve been trying to build an AI prompt to help me understand the various approaches that these quantum computing companies use - and now I have the list: “superconducting qubits, trapped ion qubits, neutral atom qubits, photonic qubits, semiconductor spin qubits, and other novel approaches.”
[Link] D-Wave CEO Alan Baratz recently gave a nice keynote talk at Qubits 2025. He talked about product updates, their paper on Quantum Supremecy, a novel blockchain architecture: Blockchain with Proof of Quantum Work, and the need to move to interconnecting multiple chips. The Next Platform has a complete write-up of the keynote.
[Link] AI startup SandboxAQ adds Nvidia, Google as backers, raises additional $150 million. SandboxAQ, a spin-off from Google-parent Alphabet in 2022, has designed Large Quantitative Models (LQMs) to handle extensive numerical datasets, perform complex calculations, and conduct statistical analysis.
[Link] The Swedish National Space Agency (SNSA) has awarded Frontgrade Gaisler , a provider of radiation-hardened microprocessors for space missions, a contract to commercialize the first neuromorphic System on Chip (SoC) device for space applications. Already in development at Frontgrade Gaisler, the device is part of the company’s new GRAIN (Gaisler Research Artificial Intelligence NOEL-V) product line. The first GRAIN device that Frontgrade Gaisler will premiere – the Gr801 SoC – integrates Akida neuromorphic technology from BrainChip.
[Link] Ayar Labs has introduced the world's first Universal Chiplet Interconnect Express (UCIe) optical chiplet, designed to enhance AI infrastructure. This innovative chiplet, named TeraPHY, achieves an impressive 8 terabits per second (Tbps) bandwidth using Ayar Labs' 16-wavelength SuperNova light source.
[Link] Photonic chip company Lightmatter announced the Passage M1000, a revolutionary 3D Photonic Superchip designed for next-generation XPUs and switches. This superchip delivers a record-breaking 114 Tbps of optical bandwidth, addressing the intense demands of AI infrastructure.
[Link] I didn’t have time to read all of the news from the SATELITE 2025 conference, but the team at Analysys Mason shared its top 10 takeaways from the event, looking at the impact of geopolitics, the direct-to-device (D2D) ecosystem, supply chain issues for manufacturing, and more.
[Link] A battery by any other name: Rethinking energy storage. Scyller Borglum of WSP has written an insightful article discussing the need to rethink energy storage solutions beyond traditional chemical batteries to meet growing energy demands and sustainability goals. Borglum highlights alternative energy storage methods, including hydrogen, pumped hydro, compressed air, and biomass, emphasizing their potential to provide scalable, context-specific, and long-duration energy storage.
Follow me on X for more links and news.
Coinbase is the easiest place to buy and sell cryptocurrency. Use my referral link to signup.