AI has a water problem. Google thinks it has a fix
The Verge AI2h agoEthicsGoogle is responding to criticism of AI data center water use with a framework for replenishment, transparency, and site-specific cooling choices. Its commitments include returning more water than data centers consume by 2030, avoiding water-intensive cooling in stressed regions, funding local infrastructure, using alternatives like reclaimed wastewater, and annual disclosures. The core tension remains that saving water can increase electricity demand.
Microsoft Build: MAI-Thinking-1 and MAI Family Models★ 78
Latent Space6h agoReleaseMicrosoft used Build to present itself as both an AI platform and a first-party model lab, announcing seven MAI models across reasoning, code, image, transcription, and voice. The standout was MAI-Thinking-1, described as a 35B active MoE with 256K context and clean data lineage. The recap also ties the launches to GitHub Copilot, Windows agent runtime ambitions, Web IQ grounding APIs, Foundry distribution, and MAIA 200 hardware.
Xcena raises $135M betting AI’s bottleneck is memory, not compute
TechCrunch AI4d agoHardwareSouth Korean chip startup Xcena raised a $135 million Series B at a $570 million valuation, bringing total funding to $185 million. The company argues AI inference is increasingly constrained by memory movement, not just GPU compute. Its prototype MX1 chip uses CXL to process data closer to DRAM, with Samsung foundry mass production planned by late 2026 and revenue targeted for 2027.
Just like gold and oil, we’ll soon be able to trade AI token futures
TechCrunch AI5d agoBusinessTechCrunch reports that large exchanges are developing derivative products around AI tokens. The shift reflects a changing view of tokens: less as outputs from computation and more as input commodities, comparable to electricity or bandwidth. If these products emerge, AI token futures could let companies and investors manage exposure to future AI compute demand and pricing risk.