Forty-five US data center projects worth $68 billion combined were blocked or delayed from April through June, with a reported 843 opposition groups against AI across 49 states. The delays come against a backdrop of 2,700 data centers currently operating in the country, of which about 400 are under construction and roughly 1,500 are awaiting approval and permitting. Some planned IPOs tied to the buildout, including hydropower and energy companies, have been pushed back, though Excelvation Holdings is seeking to raise $720 million in its offering. A Reuters Ipsos poll found 73% of Americans worry AI companies have not done enough to prevent serious harm to society, while 39% said they believe AI is having a negative impact on society. Despite the growing opposition, the broader AI trade remains intact, with Meta and AMD trading higher even as cracks begin to show in the data center boom.
Dell Falls 2.5% as $1,199 Googlebook Tests PC Margin
Dell Technologies entered Google's push into premium AI laptops with the new XPS Googlebook, a $1,199 machine pairing a 13-inch design with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite and software built around Google's Gemini AI, and shares fell approximately 2.5% to $561.01. The laptop is only one piece of Dell's AI story: the company's latest quarter generated a record $60.9 billion of AI-server orders and $16.4 billion of AI-server revenue, giving Dell a much bigger growth engine behind the new consumer device. The valuation picture is harder to ignore, with Dell's $561.01 share price sitting 143.19% above the $230.69 GF Value estimate. The Googlebook adds another premium product and could deepen Dell's position across AI devices, but there is no disclosed sales target, margin outlook or unit commitment yet. For investors, the bigger question is whether Dell can turn this new AI-PC exposure into meaningful earnings growth while its valuation already leaves little room for disappointment.
Alibaba Unveils Zhenwu V900 AI Chip, Plans 10-Trillion-Parameter Model
Alibaba Group shares climbed about 3% Tuesday after the Chinese technology company introduced a new in-house processor and outlined plans for a much larger AI model. The company said its next-generation model could reach 5 trillion to 10 trillion parameters, well above its current flagship Qwen model. Alibaba also unveiled the Zhenwu V900 through its T-Head semiconductor unit, a processor designed to deliver three times the performance of its predecessor and scheduled to enter mass production in the first quarter of 2027. The hardware push is tied to a broader expansion of Alibaba's computing infrastructure, with Alibaba Cloud planning to take its global data-center capacity beyond 20 gigawatts by 2032. The moves come as Chinese technology companies seek greater control over AI computing amid U.S. restrictions on advanced processors, with Alibaba's plans pointing to a strategy spanning chips, models and cloud infrastructure rather than relying on a single layer of the AI stack.
Oracle cloud layoffs hit 546 in America Cloud Infrastructure unit
Oracle's latest layoffs fell hardest on software developers, engineers, and managers inside its cloud infrastructure division, with 546 workers cut in its America Cloud Infrastructure organization, roughly 7.6% of the 7,185 employees it covers, according to a document obtained by Business Insider. Software developer III recorded the highest number of departures of any title at 57, and software developers overall accounted for roughly 17% of the total cuts, while positions with "manager" in the title accounted for 128 of the terminations, close to a quarter of all those listed, including 61 program manager roles. Oracle's data center support services unit lost 41 workers, among them the division's vice president and two senior directors. Most of the workers named had passed their 40th birthday and about one in six was at least 60 years old; Oracle said the information was disclosed to comply with federal age discrimination laws. Oracle has not disclosed the total number of employees laid off last week, out of roughly 141,000 before the cuts, after shedding about 21,000 positions, or 13% of its workforce, over the fiscal year ended May 31, 2026, partly attributed to AI deployment. The cuts come as Oracle absorbs a steep rise in capital spending tied to its AI data center buildout, with cloud infrastructure revenue up 121% year over year in the most recent quarter and plans to spend $90 billion to $95 billion on data center construction in fiscal 2027. Chief Financial Officer Hilary Maxson told employees at a companywide meeting last week that the layoffs should not be understood as a directive to do more with fewer resources, and the restructuring plan carries a total estimated cost of roughly $2.8 billion, with approximately $2.1 billion in charges recorded through August 31.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc
