Delays in permitting, power, and zoning cause first drop in data center construction since 2020
Despite incredible demand, the number of data centers under construction in North America fell for the first time since 2020, according to new research from CBRE.
Total data center capacity under construction dropped about 5.6% year on year from 6.35 megawatts in 2024 to 5.99 megawatts by the end of 2025.
What’s causing the delay? Slow permitting, constrained supply chains, and growing public engagement with how deals are approved at the local level. Labor constraints also were cited in the report; a tight supply of skilled workers will increase costs.
What’s causing the delay? Slow permitting, constrained supply chains, and growing public engagement with how deals are approved at the local level. Labor constraints also were cited in the report; a tight supply of skilled workers will increase costs.
Smartphone shipments are expected to decline 13% — the biggest drop ever — to 1.12 billion in 2026, according to new data from IDC, as the memory shortage drives up costs and prices for phones. The firm expects the average smartphone selling price to jump 14% to a record $523 this year.
The shortfall will mostly affect makers of lower-end smartphones, whose customers are more cost-conscious, while higher-end manufacturers like Samsung and Apple are likely to be more insulated from the pressure.
“The memory crisis will cause more than a temporary decline; it marks a structural reset of the entire market, fundamentally reshaping long‑term TAM (Total Addressable Market), the vendor landscape, and the product mix,” said Nabila Popal, senior research director with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. “We expect consolidation as smaller players exit, and low-end vendors to face sharp shipment declines amid supply constraints and lower demand at higher price points.”
Google drops new Nano Banana
Google is hoping to recapture the viral boost it received when it released its Nano Banana image generation model. Nano Banana 2 arrives today, which Google has rolled into its Gemini app.
The new model promises more accurate text rendering and translation and “advanced world knowledge,” which “pulls from Gemini’s real-world knowledge base, and is powered by real-time information and images from web search to more accurately render specific subjects,” according to the company’s press release.
New creative controls let users keep groups of characters consistent across scenes, render images with higher resolution, and parse complex prompts.
The first version of Nano Banana became popular for making action figures out of users, and helped catapult the Gemini AI app to the top of the charts, bumping ChatGPT from its perch.
New creative controls let users keep groups of characters consistent across scenes, render images with higher resolution, and parse complex prompts.
The first version of Nano Banana became popular for making action figures out of users, and helped catapult the Gemini AI app to the top of the charts, bumping ChatGPT from its perch.
Tesla’s ride-hailing service is looking a lot more like Uber’s than Waymo’s
Despite numerous promises about amassing a giant network of driverless cars, so far it seems like Tesla’s Robotaxis are a lot more similar to Uber’s plain old ride-hailing service than Waymo’s expanding autonomous fleet.
In California, where Tesla has its largest ride-hailing service, the company has taken no formal steps to gain approval for a truly driverless car service, according to Reuters. Throughout 2025, Tesla failed to log a single mile of autonomous test driving on state roads, and has not applied for the necessary permits to test or deploy vehicles without a human present. Currently, Tesla holds only a basic permit that requires a human safety monitor to remain in the driver’s seat at all times.
Currently, Tesla’s California Robotaxi service consists of roughly 300 Teslas operated by human drivers using the company’s supervised Full Self-Driving tech. In Austin, where the company has about 45 vehicles, Tesla made a big show earlier this year of announcing it was removing the safety monitors sitting in the front seats during rides. However, to date, only a handful of those vehicles have been reported to be actually operating without a safety monitor onboard.
In other words, it’s performing a service more akin to a tech-heavy Uber ride than the one operated by Alphabet subsidiary Waymo, which earlier this week announced it now has driverless rides available to the public in 10 markets. Even Uber is trying to put space between itself and the old driver-having Ubers of yore: this week its autonomous software partner said the company plans to launch a driverless service in London this year, with plans for 10 markets.
During its earnings report last month, Tesla said it planned to offer Robotaxi service in a half dozen new cities in the first half of this year, including Phoenix, Miami, and Las Vegas. Judging by Tesla’s progress so far, it’s likely those services will also feature a human in the front seat.
In California, where Tesla has its largest ride-hailing service, the company has taken no formal steps to gain approval for a truly driverless car service, according to Reuters. Throughout 2025, Tesla failed to log a single mile of autonomous test driving on state roads, and has not applied for the necessary permits to test or deploy vehicles without a human present. Currently, Tesla holds only a basic permit that requires a human safety monitor to remain in the driver’s seat at all times.
Currently, Tesla’s California Robotaxi service consists of roughly 300 Teslas operated by human drivers using the company’s supervised Full Self-Driving tech. In Austin, where the company has about 45 vehicles, Tesla made a big show earlier this year of announcing it was removing the safety monitors sitting in the front seats during rides. However, to date, only a handful of those vehicles have been reported to be actually operating without a safety monitor onboard.
In other words, it’s performing a service more akin to a tech-heavy Uber ride than the one operated by Alphabet subsidiary Waymo, which earlier this week announced it now has driverless rides available to the public in 10 markets. Even Uber is trying to put space between itself and the old driver-having Ubers of yore: this week its autonomous software partner said the company plans to launch a driverless service in London this year, with plans for 10 markets.
During its earnings report last month, Tesla said it planned to offer Robotaxi service in a half dozen new cities in the first half of this year, including Phoenix, Miami, and Las Vegas. Judging by Tesla’s progress so far, it’s likely those services will also feature a human in the front seat.
Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Oracle will agree to “build, bring, or buy” AI data center power
A month after President Trump called on Big Tech companies to “pay their own way” for data center energy — and a day after Trump pledged as much in his State of the Union address — a number of tech’s biggest companies are planning to make it official, according to a report from Fox News.
Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Oracle, in addition to OpenAI and xAI, plan to sign agreements at a March 4 White House event committing to supply their own electricity for new AI data centers.
“Under this bold initiative, these massive companies will build, bring, or buy their own power supply for new AI data centers, ensuring that Americans’ electricity bills will not increase as demand grows,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Fox.
Already, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta have committed to as much in recent data center announcements.
Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Oracle, in addition to OpenAI and xAI, plan to sign agreements at a March 4 White House event committing to supply their own electricity for new AI data centers.
“Under this bold initiative, these massive companies will build, bring, or buy their own power supply for new AI data centers, ensuring that Americans’ electricity bills will not increase as demand grows,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Fox.
Already, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta have committed to as much in recent data center announcements.
Uber to roll out robotaxis with Wayve in 10 markets
Uber also has its sights set on 10 robotaxi markets — a milestone that Alphabet subsidiary Waymo reached yesterday.
As part of its latest $1.5 billion funding round, autonomous tech startup Wayve announced that it will be helping to power robotaxis on Uber’s network, with its first launch in London this year. That’s followed by “plans to scale to more than 10 markets globally.”
The companies didn’t specify the vehicle model, but said Wayve’s AI Driver will be deployed in L4-capable vehicles from participating automakers. Uber will own and operate the fleet.
Microsoft, Nvidia, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, and Stellantis were also part of the fundraise.
Separately, an Uber filing Tuesday showed that newly appointed CFO Balaji Krishnamurthy purchased $1.6 million in company stock.
Uber shares are up about 1% premarket.
The companies didn’t specify the vehicle model, but said Wayve’s AI Driver will be deployed in L4-capable vehicles from participating automakers. Uber will own and operate the fleet.
Microsoft, Nvidia, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, and Stellantis were also part of the fundraise.
Separately, an Uber filing Tuesday showed that newly appointed CFO Balaji Krishnamurthy purchased $1.6 million in company stock.
Uber shares are up about 1% premarket.
The way different states use ChatGPT could tell us a lot about their economies
Last Friday, OpenAI launched a new public dashboard tracking global non-enterprise messages on ChatGPT sent between the summer of 2024 and the end of 2025.
Among the 118 countries analyzed, the US ranked 25th by number of messages sent per capita, with a little over three-quarters of all conversations clustering around just three subjects: practical guidance (29%), writing (27%), and seeking information (19.6%). Zooming into the state level, it becomes clear that not all regions are using the chatbot in quite the same way.
DC topped the list of ChatGPT messages per capita — echoing patterns seen in the use of Anthropic’s Claude — and it’s not hard to see why. The capital, dense with federal agencies, think tanks, and law firms, runs on drafting documents, from memos and policy briefs to endless email chains. It makes sense, then, that nearly a third (32%) of DC users lean on AI for writing, above the national average of 27%. The pattern holds across other top-ranked states, too: New York (No. 3), California (No. 4), and Washington (No. 8), for instance, all show writing as their top use case.
Flip to the other end of the rankings, where the states that use ChatGPT the least sit, and the picture looks different. In West Virginia (No. 51), South Dakota (No. 48), Mississippi (No. 46), and Arkansas (No. 45), practical guidance is the dominant use case, often accounting for 33% to 35% of all prompts.
xAI’s trade secrets lawsuit against OpenAI dismissed
In September, xAI sued rival OpenAI, accusing the company of stealing trade secrets by hiring away key employees.
After a key employee was poached by OpenAI, xAI filed its lawsuit in Northern California federal court, alleging that the company was after its “secret sauce” — the methods by which xAI was able to build data centers so quickly.
Today Judge Rita Lin dismissed the case, citing a lack of any direct accusations against OpenAI itself. In the order dismissing the case, Lin wrote:
“The sole defendant in this lawsuit is OpenAI, whom xAI accuses of misappropriating its trade secrets. But xAI does not point to any misconduct by OpenAI. Instead, it points to eight former xAI employees who left for OpenAI at around the same time.”
The judge said that xAI is allowed to file an amended complaint if it wants to pursue the case, but must do so by March 17.
Today Judge Rita Lin dismissed the case, citing a lack of any direct accusations against OpenAI itself. In the order dismissing the case, Lin wrote:
“The sole defendant in this lawsuit is OpenAI, whom xAI accuses of misappropriating its trade secrets. But xAI does not point to any misconduct by OpenAI. Instead, it points to eight former xAI employees who left for OpenAI at around the same time.”
The judge said that xAI is allowed to file an amended complaint if it wants to pursue the case, but must do so by March 17.
Chinese drone maker DJI sues to overturn FCC foreign drone ban
Chinese drone maker DJI has filed a lawsuit against the FCC challenging the December 2025 decision that effectively bans all foreign drones and components from the US market. DJI and all other foreign drone makers were added to the FCC’s “covered list” of equipment and services that the agency says “pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States.”
In a lawsuit filed with the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, DJI argues that the company is “severely harmed” by the ruling, and seeks review of the decision: “The FCC exceeded its statutory authority, failed to observe statutorily required procedures, and violated the Fifth Amendment when it purported to add DJI’s products to the Covered List.”
In a statement to Sherwood News, a DJI spokesperson said:
“The FCC can add products to the Covered List only when they present a national security threat, yet it has never identified any threat associated with DJI or its products. Despite repeated efforts to engage with the government, DJI has never been given the chance to provide information to address or refute any concerns. These procedural and substantive deficiencies violate the Constitution and federal law.”
The FCC decision has cleared the way for the nascent US drone industry just as the US military urgently races to catch up in the race to acquire drones.
Anthropic follows OpenAI in rolling out agentic tools for enterprise
Just a day after OpenAI rolled out its agentic platform for enterprise, Anthropic has announced its own. Built from existing pieces of Anthropic tech that have already been previewed, the new platform essentially ties together plug-ins that can be tailored by enterprise customers into Claude Cowork.
Companies can customize their version of the tool to use their branding, communication style, and private data to speed up a long list of common tasks like performing financial analyses, human resources tasks, design, and engineering workflows. New connectors tie Claude Cowork into third-party platforms like Salesforce’s Slack, Google’s apps, LegalZoom, and DocuSign, among others.
The announcement gave a lift to some beaten-down software companies.
While OpenAI was releasing consumer apps like Sora, Anthropic was busy improving Claude’s ability to make spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations — the boring but essential tools of the workplace.
The two competing solutions will be battling it out in the enterprise marketplace as both Anthropic and OpenAI seek to grow revenue streams to power their ambitious AI infrastructure projects.
Companies can customize their version of the tool to use their branding, communication style, and private data to speed up a long list of common tasks like performing financial analyses, human resources tasks, design, and engineering workflows. New connectors tie Claude Cowork into third-party platforms like Salesforce’s Slack, Google’s apps, LegalZoom, and DocuSign, among others.
The announcement gave a lift to some beaten-down software companies.
While OpenAI was releasing consumer apps like Sora, Anthropic was busy improving Claude’s ability to make spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations — the boring but essential tools of the workplace.
The two competing solutions will be battling it out in the enterprise marketplace as both Anthropic and OpenAI seek to grow revenue streams to power their ambitious AI infrastructure projects.
Alphabet’s Waymo is now available in 10 cities
Today, Alphabet subsidiary Waymo announced it’s now welcoming public riders to its driverless car service in four additional US cities: Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Orlando.
The company said the service will be available first to “select riders” who’ve downloaded the app in those cities, and it will invite new riders on a rolling basis before opening the service to everyone “later this year.”
The latest announcement brings Waymo’s total service area to 10 cities, mostly located in California and across the Sun Belt, and doubles its footprint from a few months ago.
The latest announcement brings Waymo’s total service area to 10 cities, mostly located in California and across the Sun Belt, and doubles its footprint from a few months ago.
TSMC trades near record high as Apple plans to purchase “well over 100 million” chips from its Arizona facility this year
Last year Apple said it would invest $600 billion to expand in the US over four years, in an effort to reduce its reliance on overseas suppliers and avoid tariffs.
We’re now getting more detail on what that involves. According to a new announcement from Apple, it includes expanding AI server production and moving future production of suddenly trendy Mac Minis to Houston.
It also involves the purchase of “well over 100 million” chips from TSMC’s Arizona facility this year, “a significant increase from 2025.”
“We’re buying as much of the output of this fab as we can,” Apple’s global head of procurement, David Tom, told The Wall Street Journal.
Apple has long been one of TSMC’s largest customers, even as the iPhone maker shifted to designing its own processors in-house — chips that TSMC overwhelmingly manufactures. Apple’s demand is helping fund TSMC’s massive multibillion-dollar chip plant expansion in Arizona.
Shares of TSMC were up 3% and near record highs in early trading Tuesday, as the Apple announcement underlines huge demand for TSMC’s AI chips
It also involves the purchase of “well over 100 million” chips from TSMC’s Arizona facility this year, “a significant increase from 2025.”
“We’re buying as much of the output of this fab as we can,” Apple’s global head of procurement, David Tom, told The Wall Street Journal.
Apple has long been one of TSMC’s largest customers, even as the iPhone maker shifted to designing its own processors in-house — chips that TSMC overwhelmingly manufactures. Apple’s demand is helping fund TSMC’s massive multibillion-dollar chip plant expansion in Arizona.
Shares of TSMC were up 3% and near record highs in early trading Tuesday, as the Apple announcement underlines huge demand for TSMC’s AI chips
Anthropic says that a group of Chinese AI startups are “distilling” their models by setting up huge numbers of fake accounts for Claude AI. In a blog post, Anthropic said that it disrupted “industrial-scale” campaigns by Chinese AI labs DeepSeek, Moonshot, and MiniMax. The company said that the group had over 16 million exchanges with Claude, after setting up 24,000 “fraudulent” accounts. Anthropic said it is developing countermeasures to prevent such attacks in the future.
Report: OpenAI’s Stargate has been a chaotic mess
Just over a year ago, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stood alongside President Trump, Oracle’s Larry Ellison, and SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son to announce an ambitious $500 billion plan to build massive data centers in the US — Project Stargate.
While today an actual Stargate 1-gigawatt data center is certainly well under construction in Abilene, Texas, it turns out there wasn’t much of a plan in place at the time of the announcement, according to a new report from The Information.
The past year has been full of partner disputes, debt problems, and scuttled plans as the loosely defined project races to build the AI computing infrastructure that OpenAI is craving as competition heats up.
Per the report, OpenAI tried to build its own data centers as the project stalled, but lenders balked at funding the risky project. They eventually settled on the current plan, in which partner Oracle borrows the money and leases capacity back to OpenAI. OpenAI was still able to control the design of the facility.
The slow start for the project resulted in OpenAI missing its own goal of 10 gigawatts of AI computing capacity from Oracle and SoftBank by the end of 2025.
The past year has been full of partner disputes, debt problems, and scuttled plans as the loosely defined project races to build the AI computing infrastructure that OpenAI is craving as competition heats up.
Per the report, OpenAI tried to build its own data centers as the project stalled, but lenders balked at funding the risky project. They eventually settled on the current plan, in which partner Oracle borrows the money and leases capacity back to OpenAI. OpenAI was still able to control the design of the facility.
The slow start for the project resulted in OpenAI missing its own goal of 10 gigawatts of AI computing capacity from Oracle and SoftBank by the end of 2025.
Ives says AI represents huge opportunity for cybersecurity firms as losses mount
Cybersecurity stocks continued to slide Monday, after Anthropic unveiled a new security feature for its AI model Friday. The company’s AI advancements have been wreaking havoc across software firms, and its latest foray appears to be doing the same to cybersecurity leaders, including CrowdStrike, Zscaler, and Cloudflare.
But similar to Dan Ives’ broader thesis on the software sell-off — which he has called “overblown,” arguing that the companies getting hit may ultimately become “core participants in the AI Revolution” — the Wedbush Securities analyst says AI is actually a positive for cybersecurity stocks.
“Anthropic going after this market with an initial tool validates our thesis that cyber security is the next frontier for the AI Revolution,” Ives wrote Monday morning, arguing that AI is elevating the risk environment — and the need for cybersecurity firms in the first place.
“AI will be a major tailwind to the cyber security sector over the coming years as protection of use cases, data, and endpoints expand markedly,” he said, adding that companies including CrowdStrike and Zscaler are well positioned to capitalize on the shift by incorporating AI into their strategies.