The AI boom is creating a surprising problem for regular tech buyers. Data centers are gobbling up DDR5 memory, driving up prices and creating a shortage that could hit consumer devices next.
Microsoft is updating Edge with code designed to intercept downloads of OpenAI’s upcoming Atlas browser. The wild part? The AI-powered browser isn’t even available for Windows yet. This preemptive move shows how scared the company is of new competition.
In a triumphant New Year’s address, Xi Jinping celebrated China’s rise in AI and semiconductor tech. However, the speech comes against a backdrop of significant domestic economic challenges, including a fragile property sector and slowing consumer growth.
According to Forbes, the AI infrastructure investment frenzy showed major cracks in 2025. While stocks like Cloudflare soared 80%, Oracle’s wild ride and massive debt highlight a speculative bubble centered on OpenAI’s uncertain future.
According to a CNBC op-ed, China effectively countered Trump’s renewed 2025 trade war with strategic export controls and trade diversions. While the country’s trade surplus soared past $1 trillion, domestic demand remained weak, revealing a split economic reality.
Global wealth sits at $600 trillion, but it’s wildly out of balance with productivity. According to a Fortune analysis, AI could be the key to growth, but only if major economies tackle their unique fiscal and structural challenges first.
Alex Davis, CEO of Disruptive Tech, issued a stark warning in an investor letter, calling the current data center construction boom “speculative” and a trap. He predicts a significant financing crisis for landlords by 2027-2028, even as the number of US data centers has nearly quadrupled since 2010.
Cryptocurrency company Coinme can keep running in Washington state after reaching a temporary agreement with regulators. The state had sought to revoke its license and fine it $300,000 over allegations it improperly claimed $8 million in customer funds.
Maxon has launched Cinebench 2026, a major update to its performance benchmarking tool. It’s built on the new Redshift rendering engine, adds support for the latest Nvidia, AMD, and Apple chips, and its scores are completely incomparable to older versions.
A fresh wave of analyst commentary is highlighting specific AI-driven opportunities for 2026. Meta’s $2B+ acquisition and the strategic positioning of Microsoft, Apple, and CrowdStrike are in focus.
