Chip sales jump 103% as US chip trade deficit hits $90.5 billion and data-centre backlash spreads
A Senate probe says 100 MW data-centre sites create only 100 permanent jobs, and banks are trying to offload AI data-centre debt they just underwrote. Opposition to projects was reported in rural Utah, near Regina and in Bengaluru, while Nvidia reportedly halted GeForce RTX 5090 production in favour of data-centre and professional GPUs.
The AI build-out is deepening US dependence on imported chips. IndexBox puts the US chip trade deficit at $90.5 billion in 2026 as AI demand outpaces domestic manufacturing, and Yahoo Finance reports the US is more reliant than ever on foreign semiconductors.
A Senate probe accuses Big Tech of misleading the public on AI data-centre jobs. Tom's Hardware reports that 100 MW sites create only 100 permanent jobs while securing GPU tax breaks, and that the companies refused to divulge job data.
Lenders are trying to shed AI data-centre exposure. Startup Fortune reports banks are trying to offload the AI data-centre debt they just underwrote, while a Bernstein analysis carried by BigGo Finance names depreciation as the biggest cost burden.
Community resistance to data centres widened. Deseret News describes rural Utah as the front line of the US backlash, a Saskatchewan First Nation is demanding consultation on a project near Regina, and the OECD AI Policy Observatory logged community protests over expansion in India.
Data centers · 9 storiesSites, colocation, cooling, capacity leases.Backlash spreads from Utah to Regina as a North Dakota build emergesMost data-centre stories in the window concerned local opposition and permitting. Applied Digital disclosed a hyperscaler project in North Dakota.Frontier AI sites: power against capital costEach point is a site in Epoch AI's frontier register with both a stated power capacity and a stated capital cost — the further above the trend, the more each megawatt cost to build.Deseret News reports rural Utah has become the front line of America's AI data-centre backlash.Deseret NewsA Saskatchewan First Nation is demanding consultation on an AI data centre near Regina, 980 CJME reports.980 CJMEApplied Digital's CEO said a Tier 1 hyperscaler is building a data centre in North Dakota as first-quarter sales rose, Stocktwits reports.StocktwitsOpen 9 stories →
Hyperscalers · 2 storiesCapex, power procurement, model-capacity deals.Senate probe questions Big Tech data-centre job claims; banks shed debtScrutiny of hyperscaler projects came from Congress and credit markets.Hyperscalers, indexed over the last 10 sessionsClosing prices on each company's home exchange, indexed to 100 at the first session shown, for the 5 hyperscalers that moved most over the window.A Senate probe says 100 MW sites from Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft peers create only 100 permanent jobs, and companies declined to share job data, Tom's Hardware reports.Tom's HardwareBanks are trying to offload AI data-centre debt they recently underwrote, Startup Fortune reports.Startup FortuneOpen 2 stories →
Semiconductors · 13 storiesAccelerators, memory, foundry, packaging.Chip sales up 103% while US import dependence growsMarket data showed sharp sales growth and a widening US chip trade gap. Nvidia reportedly shifted capacity from gaming to data-centre GPUs.Chipmakers this window, by move0 of 8 tracked chipmakers rose over the window; the change is close to close on each company's home exchange, in its own currency.Global semiconductor sales rose 103% in the first eight months, BusinessToday Malaysia reports.BusinessToday MalaysiaNvidia reportedly halted GeForce RTX 5090 production in favour of AI data-centre and professional GPUs, Tom's Hardware reports.Tom's HardwareA Japanese company, identified as Nissan Chemical, is expanding chip packaging materials output in China, according to the South China Morning Post and Yahoo Finance Singapore.South China Morning PostYahoo Finance SingaporeOpen 13 stories →
Semi equipment · 2 storiesLithography, deposition, etch, test, export rules.Super Micro smuggling broker pleads guilty; Korean equipment stocks rallyExport-control enforcement and Korean supplier shares were the two equipment stories.Toolmakers from window open to close5 of 6 tracked toolmakers closed the window above where they opened it; each line is one company's close, indexed to 100 at the open.A broker in the Super Micro smuggling case pleaded guilty to sending AI chips to China in breach of export rules, while the company co-founder denies charges, Tom's Hardware reports.Tom's HardwareKorean materials, parts and equipment stocks rallied as AI investment hopes offset a semiconductor slump, Chosun Ilbo reports.조선일보Open 2 stories →
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AI + Energy & Sustainability
Frontier AI power on the record, by country8 rows · 1 source
Stated power capacity summed across the frontier sites Epoch AI records in each country — where the grid load of the build-out actually sits.Epoch AI · Frontier Data Centers Hub
1 chart built from 0 stated figures across 0 stories, the first planned by the composer from the record. Held back: power committed in deals that state a figure (no deal in this edition states the capacity it commits); power disclosed per edition · last 7 (only 1 of the last 7 editions put a number on it); other figures on the record today (no story stated a figure of any kind); what today covered · topic by region (no energy story states a figure); when the energy stories landed (no energy story states a figure); pressure and relief by topic (every energy story today leans the same way).