Ellen Thomas
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Articles by Ellen Thomas
Kevin O'Leary says his huge data center will create 10,000 construction jobs. We looked at the numbers. Original
Kevin O'Leary has said his Utah data center development will create 10,000 construction jobs and 2,000 permanent roles. There's one problem: It probably won't. The "Shark Tank" investor may have overstated the data center's hiring potential during the construction phase, Business Insider learned in a conversation with O'Leary Ventures CEO Paul Palandjian. The accurate estimate is closer to 4,000 new construction jobs over 10 to 15 years — and that isn't a guarantee.
A major watchdog says data centers are wreaking havoc on North America's power grid
Data centers are increasing the risk of power outages and blackouts — and electric grid operators aren't prepared to handle it. Loading audio narration... The North American Electric Reliability Corporation — the top grid oversight agency for the US, Canada, and parts of Mexico — issued a rare alert on Monday, urging operators to address new risks posed by the deluge of data centers connecting to the grid.
Local data center opposition claims its latest victim: Oracle's Project Jupiter gas plant
Oracle is ditching a contentious plan to construct a natural gas plant to power one of its newest data centers. Instead, Oracle said last week that it will partner with fuel-cell maker Bloom Energy to generate on-site electricity. Dubbed Project Jupiter, the site in New Mexico is part of Oracle and OpenAI's $300 billion cloud computing contract. Project Jupiter's potential environmental impact has been the subject of intense scrutiny and speculation by the local community for months.
Local data center opposition claims its latest victim: Oracle's Project Jupiter gas plant
Oracle is ditching a contentious plan to construct a natural gas plant to power one of its newest data centers. Instead, Oracle said last week that it will partner with fuel-cell maker Bloom Energy to generate on-site electricity. Dubbed Project Jupiter, the site in New Mexico is part of Oracle and OpenAI's $300 billion cloud computing contract. Project Jupiter's potential environmental impact has been the subject of intense scrutiny and speculation by the local community for months.
Local data center opposition claims its latest victim: Oracle's Project Jupiter gas plant
2 Stocks That Should be on Your Radar as the Iran War Shifts Global Energy Markets The war with Iran is creating one of the biggest energy supply disruptions in decades. Roughly 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) had …
A $16 billion OpenAI and Oracle data center could decide whether Michigan power bills go up or stay put
OpenAI and Oracle are building a massive data center in Michigan — and residents' power bills are hinging on it. The data center is part of OpenAI's Stargate project, originally a joint venture between Oracle, SoftBank, and OpenAI. If it performs as expected, the Michigan electric utility DTE Energy says it will freeze rates for its entire customer base. Driven largely by Big Tech's sweeping AI data center buildout, electricity bills are rising nationwide.
誰も話題にしていない“あるブルーカラーの職業”が、急成長中のAI関連の仕事に転職する手助けになるかもしれません | Business Insider Japan
データセンターの開発が全国的に急拡大する中、ファイバー技術者の需要が高まっている。 Bloomberg/Getty Images テック業界で最も注目される職に就く鍵は、伝統的な職人技を習得することかもしれない。 AIブームに向けて建設されたデータセンターは、全国に広がる新施設の波の中で、ケーブルやコンピューター機器の設置・保守を担う熟練労働者を切実に必要としている。メタはすでに、その育成プログラムを立ち上げようとしている。 ファイバー技術者やデータセンター技術者として求人に掲載されることが多いこの職種は、職業訓練校の一般的なキャリアパスである低電圧技術者と同じ基礎スキルと資格を必要とする。 低電圧技術者は、セキュリティシステムから音響・映像機器まで、低電圧の電気設備の設置・保守・修理を担う。 さらに、インターネットの基盤を形成しAIを支える極細ケーブル、光ファイバーを専門とすることもできる。 Fiber Broadband AssociationとPower & Communication Contractors...
This blue-collar trade no one is talking about could help you land a fast-growing AI job Original
The key to landing the hottest job in tech might be learning a traditional trade. Loading audio narration... Data centers built for the AI boom desperately need skilled laborers to install and maintain cabling and computer equipment inside the wave of new facilities sweeping across the country. Meta is even launching a program to train them.
Big Tech's AI data centers are pushing the power grid to its limits — and one state is feeling it the most Original
Everything is bigger in Texas — and that includes the data center demand straining its power grid. Texas data center development has become so rampant that the state is on track to become the world's data center capital by 2030, surpassing Virginia.
アメリカの電力会社はAIブームを支えるために今後5年間で1.4兆ドルを投資する | Business Insider Japan
テキサス州にあるエンタジー社の施設。 Bloomberg/Getty Images アメリカの電力会社は2030年までに、設備投資に1兆4000億ドル（約224兆円）を投じる計画であることが、パワーラインズの調査で分かった。 アメリカの電力業界では、AIによる電力需要の増加が支出拡大の要因となっている。 デューク・エナジーやサザン・カンパニー、アメリカン・エレクトリック・パワーは、特に支出規模が大きい電力会社である。 AI（人工知能）競争における大口の支出者は、大手テック企業だけではない。 アメリカでは、AIの電力需要に対応すると同時に老朽化した電力網の近代化を進める中で、電力会社による発電所や送電線への投資が過去最高水準に達している。 消費者教育を行う非営利団体であるパワーラインズ（PowerLines）の新たな報告書によると、民間電力会社は、2030年までに、設備投資に1兆4000億ドル（約224兆円）を投じる見通しだという。 今後5年間の電力会社による支出見通しは、業界が過去10年間に投じた1兆3000億ドル（約208兆円）を上回る規模となっている。...
A talent CEO says data centers are a 'massive opportunity' for office workers to pivot mid-career Original
A talent CEO says all the recently laid-off tech workers wading through corporate America's sluggish job market should look to one growing area: data centers. Carrie Charles is the CEO and cofounder of Broadstaff, a staffing and recruiting firm that works with companies like Oracle and Verizon. She says that with Big Tech's AI infrastructure buildout underway across the country, Broadstaff's business is booming.
Utilities are spending $1.4 trillion to power the AI boom, and it's hiking up electric bills across the US
Big Tech isn't the only big spender in the AI race. Loading audio narration... Spending on new power plants and transmission lines has reached record highs as utilities in the US try to meet the electricity demands of AI while modernizing the country's aging electric grid. By 2030, investor-owned utilities are on track to spend $1.4 trillion on capital expenditures, according to a new report from PowerLines, a consumer education nonprofit.
The Midwest's rise to America's second-biggest data center hub is fueled by these key states Original
The AI boom is redrawing America's data center map. Loading audio narration... Texas and the Midwest are emerging as the key hubs for the largest and most powerful data centers for cloud and AI computing, shifting the industry's nexus away from Northern Virginia, a new report shows. The two regions accounted for one-third of hyperscale data center capacity at the end of 2025, according to Synergy, an IT market research firm.
Meet the ICE contractor pivoting from detention facilities to 'man camps' for data center construction workers Original
A low-profile Texas company that provides temporary housing for immigrant detainees and oil riggers could get a boost from the data center boom. Loading audio narration... Target Hospitality's stock is up about 60% since March 31. The company announced on April 1 that it had signed a $550 million deal with a top hyperscaler to house thousands of construction workers building a data center campus in Texas.
Meet the ICE contractor pivoting from detention facilities to 'man camps' for data center construction workers
12 hours ago Click here to listen to NPR's State of the World podcast, a human perspective on global stories in just a few minutes, every weekday. Israel's prime minister vowed to continue attacks against the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, despite a U.S.-Iran ceasefire, but said his government …
テック業界の大富豪たちが宇宙データセンターの建設を計画しているが、その採算は瞬く間に崩壊しかねない | Business Insider Japan
スペースXのCEO、イーロン・マスクがダボスで開催された世界経済フォーラムで講演を行った。 Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP via Getty Images テック業界の大富豪であるイーロン・マスクとジェフ・ベゾスは、AIの拡大に対応する手段として宇宙データセンターの構想を掲げている。 マッキンゼー・アンド・カンパニーによると、宇宙経済は2035年までに1兆8000億ドル（約286兆2000億円）規模に成長する可能性がある。 一方で、宇宙データセンターは高コストや技術的課題に直面するとの指摘もある。 スペースX（SpaceX）の新規株式公開（IPO）への期待から、エヌビディア（Nvidia）による宇宙コンピューティング参入まで、宇宙データセンターはテック業界で今、最も注目されるテーマの1つとなっている。 コンサルティング会社マッキンゼー・アンド・カンパニー（McKinsey and...
Here's where ICE is spending big on warehouses to turn into detention centers Original
Since January, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has spent hundreds of millions of dollars buying at least 11 massive facilities in eight states, public records show. The acquisitions, which span from New Jersey to Utah, are part of the agency's $38.3 billion plan to overhaul its network of detention centers as it accelerates the Trump administration's mass deportation push.
Oracle tells investors not to worry about data center spending because its 'very, very good' at cost-cutting Original
Oracle has two magic words for investors concerned with the company's aggressive data center spending: fast and cheap. Loading audio narration... Shares of the cloud giant rose as much as 10% on Tuesday after it surpassed investor expectations for the third quarter and raised revenue guidance to $67 billion for fiscal 2026. Still, Oracle faced some questions about its AI data center buildout and how it plans to justify the billions of dollars it burns along the way.
Eigene Kraftwerke für KI-Rechenzentren: Trump will Big Tech dazu verpflichten
Präsident Donald Trump hielt am Dienstag seine jährliche Rede zur Lage der Nation vor dem Kongress. Nathan Howard/Getty Images US-Präsident Donald Trump will, dass Rechenzentren ihren Strom künftig mit eigenen Kraftwerken erzeugen. Ein neuer Bericht von Cleanview zeigt, dass 46 Rechenzentren in den USA Kraftwerke auf ihrem Gelände errichten wollen. Die Mehrheit der Anlagen soll mit Erdgas betrieben werden – obwohl große Tech-Konzerne sich eigentlich zu sauberer Energie verpflichtet haben.
Trump will, dass Big Tech eigene Kraftwerke für KI-Rechenzentren baut – zum Schutz vor hohen Stromkosten | Flipboard
2 hours ago Der Oscar-Preisträger geht davon aus, dass Donald Trump sein Amt "nie verlassen wird". Er nahm auch an einer Gegenveranstaltung zur Rede zur Lage der Nation teil, bei der er sagte, er fühle sich "von seinem Land verraten". Nach seiner Rede zur Lage der Nation hat Donald Trump auf seiner Plattform …
President Donald Trump pitched a power fix that Big Tech has a head start in Original
The AI data center boom has triggered a dramatic spike in electricity costs, and President Donald Trump has a plan to stop it. To do this, Trump said at Tuesday's State of the Union address that he issued a mandate for data centers to build their own power plants. Trump said he'd "negotiated" a ratepayer protection pledge with major technology companies and billed it as a unique solution to Big Tech's mounting power demand that would also protect American consumers from higher electricity bills.
Texas Could Surpass Northern Virginia as World’s Largest Data Center Market by 2030
Texas is positioning itself to become the world’s largest data center market by 2030, potentially surpassing Northern Virginia’s long-held dominance, according to new research from Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL). Courtesy: photo by Fortune via Reuters Connect The findings underscore how rapidly the artificial intelligence boom is reshaping America’s digital infrastructure landscape.
This US state could be the new data center capital of the world by 2030 Original
The old saying "Everything is bigger in Texas" now applies to data centers. The Lone Star State is on track to unseat Virginia as the world's largest data center market by 2030, new research from Jones Lang LaSalle shows. The shift indicates how drastically the data center development boom has reshaped the US's digital infrastructure map and the landscape as a whole.
Welcome to the $600 billion AI era, where Big Tech is spending like it's a new Gilded Age
Big Tech is taking the AI age to a whole new level. When Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Meta announced earnings recently, one set of numbers stole the show: The massive projections for data center spending this year. Though the industry's capital expenditures — spending on property and equipment — have ramped up in recent years, 2026 is shaping up to be leaps and bounds ahead of any private-sector infrastructure spending in modern history.
Lawsuits accuse Floyd Mayweather of owing millions to luxury apartment owner and jewelry stores Original
Former boxing champ Floyd Mayweather Jr. has been hit with three new lawsuits alleging that he failed to pay millions to two jewelry stores and owes hundreds of thousands of dollars in rent on a palatial luxury Manhattan apartment. Mayweather rented the 4,629-square-foot duplex unit on the 18th and 19th floors of the Baccarat Hotel and Residences, a high-end condo tower in Midtown, in late 2024.
Google is going for the jugular — by doubling capex and outspending the rest of Big Tech
2026-02-04T22:25:43.572Z Share Copy link Email Facebook WhatsApp X LinkedIn Bluesky Threads lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt. Impact Link Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in. Alphabet's stock fell 2% after it reported Q4 earnings on Wednesday. The parent company of Google is aggressively ramping up capital expenditures for AI infrastructure.
Utilities want $31 billion more from customers, and your electric bill is about to feel it
The average American's skyrocketing electric bill has caught the attention of everyone from President Donald Trump to Microsoft executives — just don't expect lower rates in 2026. Electric and gas utilities asked state regulators to approve $31 billion in rate increases last year, more than double the $15 billion they sought in 2024, a new study from PowerLines, a nonprofit that advocates for utility customers, found.
Meta and Microsoft both blew their data center budgets last quarter. Wall Street is only mad at one of them. Original
Wall Street had very different reactions to two of Big Tech's biggest spenders after quarterly earnings reports came out on Wednesday. Both Meta and Microsoft reported higher-than-expected capex. While both companies beat revenue expectations, Microsoft's stock sank more than 6% after-hours, while Meta's stock jumped as high as 9%. Big Tech's spending has risen sharply in the last two years, driven by investments in massive AI data centers.
マイクロソフト「電力コストを自社負担」表明に、他社も追随か。AIデータセンターの「電気料金タダ乗り」は許されないと専門家 | Business Insider Japan
2025年10月20日にカリフォルニア州バーノンで撮影された、閉ループ式冷却システムを備えた33メガワットのデータセンター。Mario Tama/Getty Images データセンター展開規模を拡大しているマイクロソフトは、自社のデータセンター稼働で発生する電力コストを「自社で負担する」方針を表明した。 トランプ大統領は、Truth Socialの投稿でその計画を支持した。 ほかのビッグテック企業もこれに追随する可能性が高い。 マイクロソフト（Microsoft）は、アメリカ全土の郊外や地方で急速に拡大しているデータセンター群を稼働させるために必要な電気代を、自社で負担する方針を表明した。 同社の社長兼副会長ブラッド・スミス（Brad Smith）氏は1月13日の声明で、マイクロソフトは今後「自社の電力使用に伴って生じるコストを十分に賄える水準の電気料金を支払う」と述べた。 AIによってアメリカの電力が歴史的な水準で急増し、一般の電力利用者の電気代が上昇しているこの時期に、そのような「約束」を行うのは大胆だ。...
There's no such thing as 'free lunch' for Big Tech's electric bill Original
Microsoft is promising to cover the costs of electricity needed to power its rapidly growing fleet of data centers in suburban and rural communities across the US.
Los CEO de las grandes tecnológicas no pueden parar de hablar de los centros de datos en el espacio
Los consejeros delegados del sector tecnológico no dejan de hablar de los centros de datos en el espacio. "Obviamente, es un proyecto ambicioso", aseguraba esta semana el CEO de Google, Sundar Pichai, en el pódcast Google AI: Release Notes. El propio Pichai ha reconocido que la idea parece "una locura" hoy en día, pero "cuando realmente das un paso atrás y visualizas la cantidad de capacidad de cálculo que vamos a necesitar, empieza a tener sentido y es solo cuestión de tiempo".
Diese Tech-CEOs wollen unbedingt Rechenzentren im Weltraum bauen
Google CEO Sundar Pichai. - Copyright: Justin Sullivan/Getty Tech-CEOs können nicht aufhören, über Rechenzentren im Weltraum zu sprechen. „Offensichtlich ist das ein gewagtes Unterfangen“, sagte Google-CEO Sundar Pichai diese Woche im Podcast „Google AI: Release Notes“. Er räumte ein, dass der Gedanke heute noch „verrückt“ erscheint, aber „wenn man wirklich einen Schritt zurücktritt und sich die Menge an Rechenleistung vorstellt, die wir brauchen werden, fängt es an, Sinn zu machen.
Tech-CEOs wollen unbedingt Rechenzentren im Weltraum bauen
Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Justin Sullivan/Getty Das neueste Moonshot-Forschungsprojekt von Google will Rechenzentren ins Weltall schicken. CEO Sundar Pichai ist der neueste Tech-Manager, der im Wettlauf um künstliche Intelligenz auf diese Idee setzt. Pichai hofft, dass Google bis 2027 einen seiner maßgeschneiderten Chips ins All schicken kann. Tech-CEOs können nicht aufhören, über Rechenzentren im Weltraum zu sprechen.
Die unglaublichen KI-Ausgaben der großen Tech-Riesen im Überblick: So viel investieren die Google, Meta und Co.
Der Wettlauf um die technologische Vorherrschaft spitzt sich zu: Amazon, Google, Meta und Microsoft stecken Milliarden in Chips, Server und Rechenzentren. - Copyright: picture alliance / Zoonar | Andrey Nyrkov Der KI-Goldrausch der Tech-Giganten verlangsamt sich nicht – er wird teurer. Amazon, Google, Meta und Microsoft haben in diesem Quartal so viel Geld wie nie zuvor ausgegeben und damit Rekordausgaben für KI-Chips, Server und Rechenzentren verzeichnet.
KI-Wettrüsten bei Big Tech: So viel investieren Google, Meta und Co.
Der Wettlauf um die technologische Vorherrschaft spitzt sich zu: Amazon, Google, Meta und Microsoft stecken Milliarden in Chips, Server und Rechenzentren. picture alliance / Zoonar | Andrey Nyrkov Big Tech setzt alles auf KI: In ihren Quartalsgesprächen vermeldeten die großen Tech-Konzerne massive Ausgaben für Künstliche Intelligenz. Alle Unternehmen kündigten an, ihre KI-Investitionen bis 2026 fortzusetzen – und noch stärker auszuweiten als bisher geplant.
El segundo centro de datos de Oracle y OpenAI en Texas se alimentará con energía renovable
La nueva gran apuesta de Oracle y OpenAI por la inteligencia artificial para el proyecto Stargate está, literalmente, desconectada de la realidad. Estas empresas tienen intención de construir un nuevo centro de datos en el condado de Shackelford, en Texas (Estados Unidos), que se alimentará con cientos de generadores de gas natural, evitando así la sobrecarga de la red eléctrica estadounidense y haciendo que la instalación pueda entrar en funcionamiento más rápidamente.
La IA está haciendo que suba el precio de tu factura de la luz, pero puedes hacer algo al respecto
Si eres cliente de una empresa de servicios públicos en Estados Unidos, es probable que hayas visto cómo el precio de tus facturas ha subido este año. Los residentes en al menos 41 estados —así como las personas que viven en Washington D. C.— están experimentando un aumento en el precio de las facturas de electricidad y gas natural ahora o a lo largo de 2026, según un nuevo informe del Center for American Progress.
Los nuevos acuerdos sobre chips de OpenAI plantean una pregunta difícil: ¿De dónde vendrá toda la energía?
Si OpenAI quiere ganar la carrera de la IA, es posible que necesite su propia fuente de alimentación. El fabricante de ChatGPT ha firmado un acuerdo de colaboración multimillonario con AMD para implementar 6 gigavatios de chips de inteligencia artificial de la empresa de semiconductores. La semana pasada, OpenAI y el diseñador de chips Nvidia anunciaron un acuerdo para 10 gigavatios de potencia informática.
AI data centers are driving up electricity bills. Energy-saving hacks might not help lower them. Original
If you're a utility customer in the US, you've likely seen your rates go up this year. Residents in at least 41 states and Washington, D.C., are experiencing increased electric and natural gas bills now or will see increases in 2026, according to a new report from the Center for American Progress. Costs are rising largely due to the AI data center development boom and the resulting strain it has placed on the country's aging electric grid.
OpenAI's new chip deals raise a tough question: Where will all the power come from? Original
If OpenAI wants to win the AI race, it may need to bring its own power supply. The ChatGPT maker has signed a multibillion-dollar partnership deal with AMD to deploy 6 gigawatts of the semiconductor company's artificial intelligence chips. Just last week, OpenAI and chip designer Nvidia announced a deal for 10 gigawatts of computing power.
OpenAIとエヌビディアの1000億ドルの契約に立ちはだかる巨大な障壁…「電力へのアクセス」 | Business Insider Japan
彼らは資金とチップを手に入れた。次は電力が必要だ。 エヌビディア（Nvidia）は9月22日、OpenAIに1000億ドル（約15兆円、1ドル=150円換算）を投資する計画を発表した。この契約により、ChatGPTの開発企業はAI競争で大きな優位性を得ることになる。急成長戦略を支えるために必要な高性能GPUを10ギガワット（GW）分確保できるのだ。 両社とも言及しなかったが、OpenAIがこれらのチップを稼働させるために必要な、膨大な電力をどう確保するかは、この契約では保証されていない。 「電力へのアクセスは巨大な障壁です」とエネルギーコンサルティング会社ウッド・マッケンジー（Wood Mackenzie）のグリッド専門家ベンジャミン・ハーツ-シャーゲル（Benjamin Hertz-Shargel）氏は言う。今回の契約発表は、データセンターの完成には「程遠い」と彼は付け加えた。...
「AIデータセンター・ブーム」で非テック企業も株価爆上がり。1年で50%上昇、史上最高値更新…注目すべき分野と企業 | Business Insider Japan
世界のデータセンター市場は2028年に9000億ドル（約133兆円）を超えると予想されている。 データセンター企業は冷却設備からバックアップ電源まで、複数の分野で投資を拡大している。 キャタピラー、シュナイダーエレクトリック、バーティブといったベンダーが「データセンター・ブーム」の恩恵を受けるとみられる。 AIインフラ開発競争で大手テック企業が投資額の記録を塗り替える中、「AIデータセンター・ブーム」を享受しているのはチップメーカーだけではないと、米バンク・オブ・アメリカ・グローバル・リサーチ（Bank of America Global Research）は最新のレポートで指摘した。 エネルギー管理から建設・設備製造まで、データセンターに関連する複数の産業分野のベンダーが、コンピューター機器メーカーと並んでAI投資ブームの恩恵を受けている。 レポートによると、世界のデータセンター市場は、2024年の4060億ドル（約60兆358億円）から2028年には9390億ドル（約138兆8513億円）に達する見通しだ。...
The big challenge to OpenAI's $100B deal with Nvidia: Access to power Original
They've got the money and the chips. Now they need the power. Nvidia announced Monday that it plans to invest $100 billion in OpenAI in a deal that would give the ChatGPT maker a major leg up in the AI race — access to 10 gigawatts worth of the high-powered GPUs it needs to satisfy its mushrooming growth strategy. What the deal can't guarantee — and what neither company mentioned — is how OpenAI will access the enormous amount of electricity needed to fire up those chips.
Estas son las empresas no tecnológicas que se están beneficiando del auge del gasto en centros de datos de IA
Según un nuevo informe de Bank of America Global Research, a medida que las grandes empresas tecnológicas baten récords de gasto en la carrera por desarrollar infraestructura de inteligencia artificial, los fabricantes de chips no son los únicos que están experimentando un auge empresarial.
Meet the non-tech companies cashing in on the AI data center spending boom Original
As Big Tech companies break spending records in the race to develop AI infrastructure, chip makers aren't the only ones seeing business boom, according to a new Bank of America Global Research report. Data center vendors in several industrial sectors, from energy management to construction manufacturing, are benefiting from the AI spending boom alongside computer equipment makers.
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