Vantage Data Centers is exploring an IPO or a sale, and the number in play is enormous. Backed by Silver Lake and DigitalBridge, Vantage could raise around $10 billion and list at a valuation of about $100 billion, which would make it the largest data center IPO to date. A sale, including a stake sale, is also on the table.
This tells you where the money is going. AI training and inference need physical space, power, and cooling. Vantage recently partnered with Oracle and OpenAI on a data center campus in Wisconsin tied to Stargate, the joint venture aiming to build AI infrastructure of up to $500 billion and 10 gigawatts.
Vantage isn't alone. Switch hired banks for an IPO that could raise up to $10 billion and value the company at about $80 billion, while CyrusOne is preparing for a potential IPO as early as 2027. If you invest or build, the concrete-and-copper layer of AI is now the trade to watch.
Source: Reuters via Yahoo Finance
Astranis just entered the business of watching spacecraft from orbit. Its Perceptor geostationary surveillance satellite, unveiled August 13 at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium, is built on the same MicroGEO bus the company already operates in GEO, giving it a proven on-orbit track record none of its 13 rivals in the Space Force's $6.24 billion competition can claim.
This matters because geostationary orbit is getting crowded and contested. Astranis currently operates five satellites in this distant orbital realm, supporting the U.S. military and bringing connectivity to remote areas. Perceptor extends that into off-Earth reconnaissance.
The Pentagon has been asking for exactly this. The Defense Innovation Unit put out a solicitation for cheap commercial satellites that can maintain surveillance on other satellites, including close-range inspections. Astranis is racing to fill the gap.
Source: Space.com
Google's Pixel 11 lineup is a software story wearing hardware. The phones use the new Tensor G6 chip and add camera upgrades and deeper Gemini integration like Magic Capture, and they start at $899 for the base model with 256GB storage. Pre-orders are open now, with retail on August 20.
The real change is agentic AI. Gemini will let U.S. users order groceries, book rides, or get coffee, and it can call businesses on users' behalf for reservations or appointments. You stay in control and can review call transcripts.
Source: TechCrunch
Humanoid robots are leaving the demo stage for the factory floor. AgiBot has hit 15,000 cumulative units, Figure 03 is in production at one robot per hour and has passed 1,000 units, and Atlas deployments are advancing.
The proof is in real work, not stage shows. Figure AI retired its F.02 robots after deploying them at BMW's Spartanburg plant for nearly a year, where they contributed to production of over 30,000 BMW X3 vehicles and loaded more than 90,000 sheet metal parts. If you run operations or logistics, these machines are becoming line workers you can actually buy.
Source: Humanoid Robots News
India's AI buildout got a headline deal. L&T announced it will deploy 10,000 NVIDIA B300 GPUs at its Chennai data center campus for Together AI, a U.S.-based AI cloud company. The order sits among the country's largest AI infrastructure contracts to date.
The move marks a new kind of player. The project signals L&T's formal entry into the AI Factory business, as the engineering and construction giant expands its footprint in AI infrastructure. For anyone building AI products in Asia, cheaper local compute is coming online fast.
Source: TechChannel News
A new cancer therapy just got cleared, and it uses a living virus as the treatment. The FDA granted accelerated approval to RP1, sold as TUDRIQEV, to be used with nivolumab for unresectable advanced cutaneous melanoma on August 6, 2026.
This is a real deployment, not a preprint. The FDA newsroom lists it as a new engineered viral immunotherapy for patients with treatment-resistant advanced melanoma. If you follow biotech or have skin in oncology, engineered viruses just moved a step closer to standard care.
Source: FDA Press Announcements
TechCrunch got early time with Google's new phones, and the video is the fastest way to see what changed. The hands-on shows the more durable Pro Fold, an updated camera bar, and the push for Gemini AI features.
Watch it to judge for yourself whether the agentic features feel useful or gimmicky before you pre-order. This year's devices add Gemini features that complete tasks in the background, including a new transcription tool, live translation across content, and a camera feature that captures the right frames.
Source: TechCrunch
Microsoft is recalibrating its China footprint, and its shrinking China presence shows how geopolitics is redrawing Big Tech's operating map even as AI and cloud demand make a full separation costly.
Neuraspace raised fresh funding for space traffic management, and it says it monitors over 600 satellites for customers including Spire Global and ESA, with 350% revenue growth over the past year.
Cerebras had a rough day on the market, as its stock plunged 14% after its second earnings report following the IPO.
16,320 — active satellites in Earth orbit as of today. SpaceX Starlink accounts for 10,908 of them, or 67% of everything active up there.
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