CREW Carbon raises $25M to embed carbon removal in wastewater plants
Brooklyn startup CREW Carbon closed a $25M Series A to scale wastewater alkalinity treatment that removes CO2 while improving plant operations, with Fortune 500 offtake agreements already locked.
Cerberus backs zinc batteries with $250M, insurance wrap to challenge lithium
Eos Energy and Cerberus launch Frontier Power USA with $250M committed capital and first-of-its-kind technology insurance framework, signaling institutional shift toward non-lithium long-duration storage.
Pentagon deploys eight frontier AI firms to classified networks, cuts Anthropic out
The DoD announced May 1 deals with OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, AWS, NVIDIA, SpaceX, Oracle, and Reflection AI for classified network deployment, formally excluding Anthropic after the company refused unrestricted military use of Claude.
Tenstorrent's $110K AI Server Challenges Nvidia's Inference Dominance
Tenstorrent launches Galaxy Blackhole inference servers at 3-5x cheaper per node than Nvidia DGX, with 16 units already deployed at Equinix and performance claims that undercut the GPU+LPU disaggregation trend.
Google Splits TPU in Two: Training and Inference Arms
Google bifurcated its eighth-generation TPU into specialized training and inference chips on April 22, 2026, marking the first architectural split in a decade and directly challenging Nvidia's grip on AI infrastructure scaling.
Tesla AI5 chip tapes out, first stop is Optimus, not cars
Tesla taped out its AI5 self-driving chip on April 15, 2026, with 8x the compute of AI4, but it's deploying first to humanoid robots and data centers, not the vehicle fleet—a signal about where the real AI work actually is.
Chad Rigetti's Sygaldry raises $139M to shrink AI's power appetite
Chad Rigetti, the physicist behind Rigetti Computing, has launched Sygaldry Technologies with $139M in funding to build quantum-accelerated servers that reduce AI's energy consumption inside data centers rather than replace classical chips.
Fortescue fast-tracks $2.5B off-grid renewable grid to 2028
Fortescue is accelerating deployment of a 1.8GW islanded renewable system with 4-5GWh of battery storage by 2028, eliminating diesel from Pilbara mining operations and demonstrating industrial decarbonization at scale.
Meta and Broadcom Lock in 1GW Custom AI Silicon Through 2029
Meta and Broadcom announced a multi-year partnership on custom MTIA chips through 2029, committing to deploy 1 gigawatt initially with plans to scale to multiple gigawatts by 2027. The chips will be the industry's first 2nm AI accelerators, shifting the inference market away from Nvidia.
IonQ Links Two Quantum Computers via Light, Wins DARPA Contract
IonQ demonstrated the first photonic interconnection of two commercial quantum computers and secured a DARPA HARQ contract, triggering a 20% stock surge and signaling that quantum networking—not just qubit count—is now the competitive frontier.
EVE Energy commits $1.6B to 110 GWh battery capacity in two weeks
Chinese battery maker EVE Energy announced ¥11 billion ($1.6B) in dual manufacturing expansions adding 110 GWh of energy storage capacity, signaling aggressive bet on grid storage over EV powertrains.
JPMorganChase locks 60,000 tons from Graphyte's biomass carbon removal
JPMorganChase signed a decade-long offtake deal for 60,000 tons of carbon removal from Graphyte, betting on sub-$100/ton biomass sequestration over direct air capture as the near-term pathway to scale.
Carbon Robotics Crosses $100M Revenue on AI Laser-Weeding Platform
Carbon Robotics surpassed $100 million in annual revenue for its fiscal year ending January 31, 2026, making it the first commercial field-robotics agtech company built around herbicide elimination to reach nine-figure revenue.
LND Merges Onion Message Forwarding, Closing BOLT12 Gap with Core Lightning
Lightning Labs merged onion message forwarding into LND via PR #10089, the prerequisite capability for BOLT12 offers support and a direct challenge to Core Lightning's year-long lead on the protocol.
Arm Launches First Own Chip in 35 Years, Targets $15B by 2031
Arm Holdings shipped its first production CPU in 35 years — the AGI CPU, co-developed with Meta and built on TSMC 3nm — targeting $15 billion in standalone revenue by 2031 and marking a structural break from its pure licensing model.
Microsoft Buys 1 Million Biochar Credits from Liferaft in 10-Year Deal
Microsoft has signed a 10-year offtake agreement with Iowa-based Liferaft for 1 million biochar carbon removal units — the largest such deal in U.S. history — signalling that bankable demand is now the primary lever for scaling durable carbon removal infrastructure.