Author: precious

Aria Networks, a Palo Alto-based networking startup founded in January 2025, has raised $125 million in its first funding round to build what it describes as the first AI-native network designed from the ground up to maximize token efficiency. The round was backed by Sutter Hill Ventures, Atreides Management, Valor Equity Partners, and Eclipse Ventures. With the announcement of this funding came another announcement of the general availability of Deep Networking, Aria Networks’ core platform for AI infrastructure. What Is Deep Networking? Deep Networking is built on five pillars – AI-optimized hardware and hardened SONiC, fine-grained end-to-end telemetry, intelligent agents…

Artificial Intelligence (AI) companions that mimic emotional intimacy are now squarely in China’s regulatory crosshairs. The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) released draft rules on April 3, 2026, that would ban “digital humans” from offering simulated romantic or family relationships to users under 18, prohibit platform features designed to fuel addiction, and require labeling on all AI-generated content that are designed to be human-like. The draft, open for public comment until May 6, covers everything from AI-powered livestreamers to customer service agents and emotionally responsive chatbots. What Are Digital Humans? Digital humans are defined as virtual figures that exist in…

Data centers are power-hungry by design, but Nvidia wants them to work in the opposite direction. At CERAWeek 2026, Nvidia and Emerald AI announced they are working with AES, Constellation, Invenergy, NextEra Energy, Nscale Energy & Power, and Vistra to develop a new class of AI factories that connect to the grid faster and operate as flexible energy assets. The goal is to get AI infrastructure online faster and make it capable of supporting the grid rather than only drawing from it. The Problem Driving the Push AI’s power demands have outpaced the grid’s ability to keep up. Data centers…

An Iran-linked hacking group recently wiped data from tens of thousands of corporate devices at Stryker Corporation, which immediately brought global operations in one of the world’s largest medical technology companies to a standstill. The attack was claimed by Handala, an Iran-linked hacking group, and it involved remotely wiping more than 200,000 servers, mobile devices, and other systems, ultimately stealing 50 terabytes of data and disrupting operations across 79 countries. The incident has since been confirmed as one of the most significant cyberattacks on a U.S. company since the start of the ongoing conflict between Iran and allies Israel and…

SpaceX confidentially filed for an initial public offering (IPO) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on April 1, 2026, aiming to be the largest (IPO) in history. The company is targeting a valuation of up to $1.75 trillion and plans to raise around $75 billion through the offering, with a public listing on Nasdaq targeted for June or July 2026, depending on market conditions. For comparison, Saudi Aramco currently holds the record for the largest IPO ever, having raised $29.4 billion in 2019. SpaceX is aiming to raise more than double that. From Rockets to Revenue Engine SpaceX’s case…

California has always moved ahead of Washington on technology regulation, and artificial intelligence (AI) is the next thing for the state to tackle. With the U.S. Congress unable to pass federal AI legislation, the state has spent the past two years building one of the most comprehensive AI regulatory frameworks in the country, piece by piece, bill by bill, from the statehouse in Sacramento. California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an Executive Order on March 30, 2026, tightening the rules for AI companies that want to do business with the state. The order, which Newsom’s office is calling “first-of-its-kind,” sets new…

Microsoft will pump $10 billion into Japan between 2026 and 2029, covering AI data centers, cybersecurity infrastructure, and workforce training. Microsoft President Brad Smith announced the investment during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo. The deal, equivalent to roughly ¥1.6 trillion, is the company’s largest single commitment to the country and nearly four times the $2.9 billion it pledged in April 2024. Microsoft Building Inside Japan The core of the investment is physical infrastructure. Microsoft will expand in-country AI infrastructure through partnerships with SoftBank and Sakura Internet, enabling GPU-based AI computing accessible through Azure while keeping…

DeepSeek is weeks away from launching V4, its most powerful AI model yet, and the chip choice at the center of that release may be more consequential than the model itself. According to a report by The Information, cited by Reuters, DeepSeek’s upcoming V4 model will run on Huawei chips rather than the Nvidia hardware that powers most large AI systems today. DeepSeek has spent recent months working closely with Huawei and domestic chipmaker Cambricon Technologies to adapt parts of the model’s underlying code and conduct testing, and is also developing two additional V4 variants, each designed for different capabilities…

On April 1, 2026, NASA launched Artemis II, the first crewed flight of the Artemis program and the first time humans have traveled beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972. The mission carries four astronauts on a roughly 10-day journey around the Moon aboard the Orion spacecraft, named Integrity by the crew. The Artemis II Crew and What They Represent Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen lifted off from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39B. Glover, Koch, and Hansen have already made history as the first Black…

The drone strikes that hit Amazon Web Services (AWS) facilities in the Gulf region in March 2026 were not meant to only serve as a cyberattack. They were physical attacks, conveying a message that corporate infrastructure can also become a target during a military operation. Iranian Shahed drones struck two AWS data centers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) before dawn on March 1st, and a third facility in Bahrain was also hit. AWS confirmed structural damage, power disruption, fire, and water damage from firefighting systems across the affected sites. These were the first known military strikes ever carried out…