Google wants to build solar-powered data centers — in space

Key Takeaway: Google proposes launching TPU-powered satellites into near-continuous sunlight to run AI workloads on solar energy, with small demos in 2027 and potential economic viability by 2035—though technical, cost, and environmental hurdles remain.

More Insights:

• Constellation concept: fleets of small satellites, each with TPUs, linked wirelessly; optical tests hit ~1.6 Tbps over hundreds of meters.

• Timeline: two test satellites (four TPUs each) with Planet Labs target 2027; scaling hinges on falling launch costs.

• Energy angle: special orbits could deliver up to 8× the annual solar yield of mid-latitude ground panels.

• Reliability: UC Davis irradiation trials suggest TPUs could survive 5–6 years; bit-flip errors in space remain a risk.

• Carbon calculus: an EU study says space data centers are greener only with reusable launchers emitting <370 kgCO2/kg; future rockets (e.g., Starship) could be decisive.

Why it matters: If workable, this could decouple AI growth from Earth’s power grids and carbon limits—signaling that the energy appetite of AI is so massive we may push core computing infrastructure off-planet.

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'Big Short' Michael Burry bets $1bn on AI bubble bursting

Key Takeaway: Michael Burry disclosed positions tied to a $1.1bn bet against AI high-flyers—most notably Palantir puts and a large Nvidia position—arguing the sector looks like a bubble.

More Insights:

• Scion’s 13F lists ~$912m in Palantir put contracts and ~$187m tied to Nvidia; strike/expiry not disclosed.

• Burry warned on X, sharing charts of tech capex echoing 1999–2000 and slowing cloud demand.

• Nvidia recently crossed a $5T valuation; Palantir shares are up ~400% over the past year.

• MIT research flagged many AI investments as delivering “zero returns”; OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Goldman’s David Solomon also cautioned on overexuberance.

• After the news, Nvidia was ~2% lower pre-market and Palantir ~7% lower.

Why it matters: If AI spending keeps outrunning business returns, market leaders could face a painful re-rating—Burry’s bet is a high-profile signal to separate narrative from cash flow before momentum turns.

Amazon sends legal threats to Perplexity over agentic browsing

Key Takeaway: Amazon sent Perplexity a cease-and-desist over its Comet shopping agent not identifying itself, igniting a test case for how “agentic” browsers can operate on major platforms.

More Insights:

• Amazon says agents must disclose themselves and honor a site’s decision to allow or block them; Perplexity argues agents inherit a user’s permissions.

• Amazon hints it could block Comet entirely—and it already has its own bot, Rufus.

• Perplexity claims Amazon’s motive is preserving ads and product placements that bots would likely ignore.

• The dispute echoes earlier Cloudflare findings that Perplexity evaded bot blocks, raising transparency questions.

• As bots handle shopping and bookings, platforms may set rules that function like a new “robots.txt for agents.”

Why it matters: This clash will shape the rules of the agentic web—whether autonomous shoppers must announce themselves and seek consent, or can act as invisible proxies—determining who captures value online: platforms monetizing attention, or users delegating decisions to bots.

Other stuff

• Google’s AI Mode gets new agentic capabilities to help book event tickets and beauty appointments

• Inside the race to train AI robots how to act human in the real world

• State of Agentic AI: Founder’s edition

• OpenAI debated merging with one of its biggest rivals after firing Sam Altman, court docs reveal

• Elon Musk hypes Tesla’s 8th-gen AI chip, but still hasn’t delivered the promised self-driving on 3rd-gen

• Studio Ghibli and other Japanese publishers want OpenAI to stop training on their work

• Coca-Cola’s new AI holiday ad is a sloppy eyesore

• Trump Officials Torpedoed Nvidia’s Push to Export AI Chips to China

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