07/02/2023 What I Read Last Week
Databricks, AWS, Confidential Computing, Quantum Computing, Crusoe Energy Systems
Weekly Edition of curated news about Digital Infrastructure
Databricks buys generative AI company MosaicML for $1.3B. It was a big week for data storage and management company Databricks. Databricks (recently valued at $38 billion) had its Data + AI Summit last week in San Francisco. MosaicML is a San Francisco-based company that says it aims to make large-scale neural network training and inference more accessible to everyone.
AWS launches AppFabric, a no-code service to integrate multiple software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications. Amazon says it connects 12 SaaS applications, including applications by Asana, Atlassian Jira suite, Dropbox, Miro, Okta, Slack, Smartsheet, Webex by Cisco, Zendesk, and Zoom — and manages them all in one location.
At the Confidential Computing Summit last week, VMware said that it is joining forces with AMD, Samsung, and members of the RISC-V Keystone community to simplify the development and operations of confidential computing applications. Confidential Computing is the protection of data in use by performing computation in a hardware-based, attested Trusted Execution Environment.
I just can’t seem to get enough quantum computing news, and there were several things this past week that caught my eye:
SandboxAQ has been awarded the Prototype Quantum Resistant Cryptography Public Key Infrastructure agreement from DISA. Their Security Suite defends against cyber-attacks, including quantum decryption. Microsoft and Deloitte & Touche LLP join the program, leveraging their expertise in DISA environments. Deloitte offers cryptographic integration, while Microsoft excels in hybrid technology deployments.
Researchers at the University College Cork have discovered a spatially modulating superconducting state in a new and unusual superconductor Uranium Ditelluride (UTe2). Researcher Joe Carroll said “However, since its discovery five years ago there has been a huge amount of research on UTe2 with evidence pointing to it being a superconductor which may be used as a basis for topological quantum computing.”
South Korea plans to invest over 3 trillion won ($2.33 billion) in quantum science and technology by 2035. South Korea's objective is to obtain a 10% stake in the worldwide quantum technology market by 2035. To achieve this goal, the country has formed collaborations with IBM and IonQ to provide training to domestic specialists in the field of quantum computing.
Nokia and its partners today announced the successful completion of Europe’s first live hybrid quantum encryption key trial with Belgium telecom Proximus. Using technology from Nokia, ID Quantique, and evolutionQ, Proximus was able to establish a quantum-safe optical network connection using quantum key distribution (QKD) to successfully encrypt and transmit data between two data centers located in Brussels and Mechelen, Belgium.
Celestial AI, the Creator of the Photonic Fabric Optical Interconnect Technology Platform, Raises $100 Million in Series B Funding.
SES Space & Defense has been awarded a $134 million contract to provide X-band satellite communications services for the US Department of Defense (DoD).
Crusoe Energy Systems and Unblock Computing have unveiled a strategic partnership aimed at introducing Crusoe's innovative Digital Flare Mitigation (DFM) technology to Argentina. This collaboration will involve the implementation and continuous management of the inaugural DFM project in Argentina's Vaca Muerta oilfield, with the goal of minimizing energy wastage and mitigating the environmental consequences associated with natural gas flaring. Crusoe’s DFM technology converts otherwise wasted and flared natural gas into electricity to power advanced computation by deploying modular data centers to capture the excess gas produced as a byproduct of oil production.
Follow me on Twitter for more links and news.
#DigitalInfrastructure
#Datacenter
#QuantumComputing
#VMware
#AWS