Mike Santos
Hardware & Infrastructure Reporter

Data centers, networking gear, and the physical layer of the internet. Previously covered telecom infrastructure at Light Reading.new

Latest

TECfusions, a Florida-based data center operator with one of North America's largest AMD AI clusters, plans to go public via a $4 billion SPAC merger with Apex Treasury.

TECfusions plans $4 billion SPAC deal for AMD-based AI data centers

**TECfusions' SPAC merger values the AMD-powered data center operator at $4 billion, signaling surging investor appetite for AI infrastructure assets.**

BAE Systems unveiled the Brontanax, a self-funded unmanned fighter jet at the Farnborough Airshow, targeting 80% of Typhoon capability at 25% of the cost.

BAE Systems unveils Brontanax unmanned fighter jet at 25% of Typhoon cost

**Key Takeaways:** BAE Systems unveiled the Brontanax unmanned fighter jet at the Farnborough Airshow. The drone targets 80% of Typhoon capability at 25% of the cost. Flight testing is planned for 2027 with potential service entry by 2030.

Boeing showcases its MQ-28 Ghost Bat autonomous fighter drone at Farnborough Airshow 2026, leading rivals in the race to build uncrewed combat aircraft.

Boeing Ghost Bat targets 2028 as 5 rivals chase drone fighter market

**Five defense contractors are racing to build the first operational autonomous fighter jet, with Boeing's Ghost Bat holding a lead after 100-plus test flights.**

Vertiv is doubling chiller production capacity at its Tognana, Italy, campus by the end of 2026 to meet growing demand for AI data center cooling infrastructure.

Vertiv doubles Italy chiller output on surging AI data center demand

**Vertiv is doubling chiller output at its Italian campus, betting AI's thermal demands will keep outpacing data center cooling supply.**

Google has connected the Nuvem subsea cable to Portugal, adding 384 Tbps of transatlantic capacity to support surging cloud computing and AI service demand.

Google lands Nuvem cable in Portugal, adding 384 Tbps transatlantic route

**Key Takeaways:** - Google connected the Nuvem subsea cable, spanning 7,000 km with 384 Tbps capacity, between the U.S. and Portugal. - The cable lands in Sines, Portugal, joining two existing subsea routes and supporting Europe's AI infrastructure buildout. - Portugal has more than 2.6 GW of renewable energy capacity under development, attracting hyperscaler data center investment.

BloombergNEF projects US data center electricity demand will reach 194 GW by 2035, consuming 20% of the nation's power supply.

US data center power demand to hit 194 GW by 2035, consuming 20% of grid

**AI infrastructure is reshaping the US power grid at a pace that regulators and utilities are struggling to match.**

A consortium backed by BlackRock and MGX closed the $40 billion acquisition of Aligned Data Centers and committed an additional $5 billion in growth capital.

BlackRock-led consortium adds $5 billion to Aligned Data Centers

**A BlackRock-backed consortium closed the $40 billion acquisition of Aligned Data Centers and committed $5 billion more for expansion.**

Italian cable maker Prysmian agrees to a 10-year, $6.29 billion supply deal with Koch Industries-owned Molex for data-center cables.

Prysmian signs $6.29 billion Molex deal for data-center cables

**Key Takeaways:** - Prysmian signs a 10-year, $6.29 billion deal to supply data-center cables to Molex - The agreement locks in critical infrastructure supply for Koch Industries-owned Molex - AI-driven data-center buildout is driving long-term contracts across the physical supply chain

Meta and hyperscalers face AI data center bottlenecks from electrical equipment shortages, benefiting Caterpillar and Eaton as industrial infrastructure suppliers.

Hyperscalers face data center bottleneck as 2 industrial stocks gain

**The AI data center buildout is running into electrical equipment shortages that no amount of software can fix, pushing Caterpillar and Eaton to the front of the infrastructure supply chain.**

SpaceX scrubbed Starship Flight 13 after four Raptor engines failed to ignite, delaying the V3 rocket's test campaign and raising pressure on NASA's 2028 Artemis lunar deadline.

SpaceX's Starship Flight 13 scrubs as 4 engines fail to ignite

**SpaceX's Starship Flight 13 was aborted at T-zero after four Raptor engines failed to ignite, delaying the V3 rocket's test campaign and adding pressure to NASA's 2028 Artemis lunar deadline.**

ZTE Corp. launched the Xingzai humanoid robot at WAIC 2026, a 30kg full-size unit targeting commercial service applications.

ZTE unveils 30kg humanoid robot at WAIC 2026 as China robotics race heats up

**ZTE Corp. entered the humanoid robotics market at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, unveiling a 30-kilogram full-size robot that it claims is the lightest in its class.**

A July 17 MarketWatch report identified three AI-adjacent sectors benefiting from capital rotation out of semiconductor stocks, naming specific stock picks for investors.

Three AI-adjacent sectors gain as chip selloff fuels rotation

**Capital is rotating from semiconductor stocks into data-center infrastructure, power utilities, and networking hardware as investors seek alternative AI exposure, a July 17 MarketWatch report said.**

SpaceX aborted its Starship V3 launch on July 16, 2026 after multiple Raptor engines failed to ignite, sending shares 4% lower below the IPO price.

SpaceX aborts Starship launch as engine failure triggers 4% drop

**SpaceX's upgraded Starship rocket failed to launch Thursday after multiple engines did not ignite, triggering an automatic abort and sending shares below their IPO price.**

Super Micro Computer expands its liquid cooling portfolio with 10 new Rear Door Heat Exchanger models for AI data centers.

Super Micro expands liquid cooling lineup with 10 new RDHx models

**Key Takeaways:** - Super Micro launched 10 new Rear Door Heat Exchanger models for AI data center cooling - Cooling capacities range from 10kW to 120kW across the expanded portfolio - The expansion targets rising thermal demands from AI factories and high-density racks

AT&T and Verizon launched new lower-priced single-line mobile plans starting at $15 and $30 per month respectively, shifting away from multi-line family plans to attract cost-conscious consumers.

AT&T and Verizon launch single-line plans from $15 to challenge T-Mobile

**AT&T and Verizon are breaking from years of family-plan dominance with new single-line plans starting as low as $15 a month.**

Hewlett Packard Enterprise is capitalizing on AI infrastructure demand with a record $5.9 billion backlog and surging server and networking orders.

HPE rides AI infrastructure boom with $5.9B backlog and 81% gain

**Key Takeaways:** - HPE's Q2 FY2026 revenue hit $10.7 billion, driven by AI systems and server upgrades - The company holds a record $5.9 billion AI systems backlog as enterprise adoption accelerates - Networking revenue reached $2.7 billion, contributing over 40% of total operating income

Gorilla Technology Group prices $125 million in 7.50% convertible notes to fund its NeutraDC Batam data center project in Indonesia.

Gorilla Technology prices $125M bond to fund NeutraDC Batam project

**Gorilla Technology raised $125 million in 7.50% convertible notes to fund its NeutraDC Batam data center project in Indonesia, marking its second major bond offering in six weeks.**

Supermicro expands its Rear Door Heat Exchanger portfolio with ten models supporting cooling capacities from 10kW to 120kW for high-density AI and HPC data centers.

Supermicro adds 10 liquid cooling models up to 120kW for AI data centers

**Data center operators racing to cool high-density AI racks now have a simpler path to liquid cooling without ripping out existing infrastructure.**

Nokia launched the industry's first commercial AI-native RAN platform built with Nvidia, targeting more than 100% spectral efficiency gains by 2028.

Nokia launches first AI-RAN platform, targets 100% spectral gain by 2028

**Key Takeaways:** - Nokia launched the industry's first commercial AI-native RAN platform on July 15, 2026 - The platform promises more than 100% spectral efficiency gains by 2028, doubling existing spectrum capacity - Nokia shares have surged 140% over the past year as the market re-rates the company as an AI infrastructure play

CleanSpark signed a 20-year, $6.6 billion data center lease in Georgia, marking its first major infrastructure deal since pivoting from Bitcoin mining to AI computing.

CleanSpark signs $6.6B data center lease in pivot from mining

**Key Takeaways:** - CleanSpark signed a 20-year, $6.6 billion data center lease in Georgia - The tenant is an unnamed high investment-grade global technology company - The deal marks CleanSpark's first infrastructure contract since pivoting from Bitcoin mining

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