Latest news with #EnergyandInnovationSummit


Technical.ly
a day ago
- Business
- Technical.ly
Pittsburgh weekly roundup: Skild opens San Francisco office; Ansys acquisition complete; Forge AI Pitch Challenge
This week in Pittsburgh, the data center gold rush, advice from angel investors on raising capital and more. Read on for weekly roundup of top news in the region. 📰 News Incubator: What else to know • What happens when a data center comes to town? PA's Dorrance Township doesn't want to find out. With real estate developers sniffing around for potential, this rural community is setting up protections before applications start rolling in. [ ] • Skild AI is expanding to San Francisco, a controversial move in the Pittsburgh startup scene. When Abridge announced its intention for a similar move in March, it sparked a debate about why the local talent scene isn't enough for these hypergrowth firms. [ Pittsburgh Biz Times / ] • Synopsys finally completed its $35 billion acquisition of Cannonsburg-based Ansys, after more than a year checking all the legal boxes. [ Synopsys / ] • Protestors surrounded the Energy and Innovation Summit, as Pittsburghers spoke up against Carnegie Mellon University's decision to host President Donald Trump and the impact of AI development on climate change. [ / Pittsburgh City Paper / WESA] • Apply by Aug. 8 for a chance to be recognized as one of the region's top AI startups — and win $50,000 — at the Forge AI Pitch Challenge. [ AI Horizons ] • People aren't moving for jobs, but instead to places they want to live and then finding jobs there, Chris Wink writes in his latest column. In Pittsburgh, telling its unique stories of relative cost of living and quirky culture can be the thing that pulls talent in. [ ] • It just got easier for union workers to report employer violations. Allegheny County launched the confidential Right to Organize Incident Report Form to document the errs, but you should still file a formal complaint, too. [ Allegheny County ] • ICYMI: Catch up on the top takeaways from local startup CEOs Shiv Rao, John Thornton, Jake Loosararian and more at the AI Horizons kickoff event earlier this week. [ Pittsburgh Slack channel ] • If your startup exit strategies rely on M&A, start by finding the right advisor to guide you through it. Here are 10 tips to sift through the candidates. [ ] 🗓️ On the Calendar • Fix your gaming keyboard and get back to gameplay at a $25 electronics repair class hosted by Hackers Guild PGH on July 19. [ Sign up ] • Get access to 3D printers at Prototype PGH at a training session for beginners on July 19. The event costs $10 to attend, but no one will be turned away due to lack of funds. [ Register ] • Level up your woodworking skills at HackPGH's picture frame design class. The July 20 event costs $185 and is recommended for folks with beginner woodworking knowledge. [ Attend ] • Head to the University of Pittsburgh for JuliaCon from July 22 to 25. Prices vary, but for an additional fee, you can attend a Pirates game with fellow enthusiasts of the coding language. [ Get tickets ] • Learn how to access your Bitcoin on the Solana blockchain, followed by a Federal Galley hangout, with BitDevs Pittsburgh on July 23. [ More info ] • Brush up on your sketching skills and meet new people at Ascender's Pictionary Happy Hour on July 24. [ Details here ] • Procrastinate on your latest project by catching up with friends or finally make time for that deadline you've been putting off at Avenu: Meyran's coworking summer Fridays on July 25. [ Learn more ]

USA Today
2 days ago
- Business
- USA Today
Trump joins tech leaders to launch $90 billion AI push at Pittsburgh summit
President Donald Trump joined executives from some of the largest U.S. tech and energy companies for a summit in Pittsburgh on Tuesday as the administration prepares more measures to power the U.S. expansion of artificial intelligence. Top economic rivals, the U.S. and China, are locked in a technological arms race over who can dominate AI as the technology takes on increasing importance everywhere from corporate boardrooms to the battlefield. The Energy and Innovation Summit at Carnegie Mellon University brought tech executives and officials from top energy and tech firms, including Meta META.O, Microsoft MSFT.O, Alphabet GOOGL.O and Exxon Mobil XOM.N, to discuss how to position the U.S. as a leader in AI. Trump and the summit's host, U.S. Senator Dave McCormick, a Republican ally from Pennsylvania, highlighted some $90 billion in artificial intelligence and energy investments in the state. "This is a really triumphant day for the people of the Commonwealth and for the United States of America, we're doing things that nobody ever thought possible," Trump told the attendees. Big Tech is scrambling to secure enough electricity to power the energy-guzzling data centers needed for its rapid expansion of artificial intelligence. Companies began announcing their plans early on Tuesday, with Google inking a $3 billion electricity deal and CoreWeave CRWV.O touting a $6 billion AI data center. Artificial intelligence: Nvidia becomes first company to reach $4 trillion market cap. What are the top 5? Google said it secured as much as 3 gigawatts of U.S. hydropower in a deal between the tech firm and Brookfield Asset Management that includes initial 20-year power purchase agreements for electricity generated from two facilities in Pennsylvania. Asset management firm Blackstone's BX.N President Jon Gray also said they will announce on Tuesday a $25 billion investment in data centers and energy infrastructure in Pennsylvania. The CEOs that attended included Khaldoon Al-Mubarak of Abu Dhabi investment company Mubadala, Rene Haas of Arm O9Ty.F, Larry Fink of BlackRock BLK.N, Darren Woods of Exxon Mobil, Brendan Bechtel of Bechtel and Dario Amodei of Anthropic. The White House is considering executive actions in the coming weeks to make it easier for power-generating projects to connect to the grid and also provide federal land on which to build the data centers needed to expand AI technology, Reuters previously reported. The administration is also weighing streamlining permitting for data centers by creating a nationwide Clean Water Act permit, rather than requiring companies to seek permits on a state-by-state basis. Trump ordered his administration in January to produce an AI Action Plan that would make "America the world capital in artificial intelligence" and reduce regulatory barriers to its rapid expansion. That report, which includes input from the National Security Council, is due by July 23. Trump is set to mark that deadline with a major speech as part of an event titled 'Winning the AI Race,' organized by White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks and his co-hosts on the All-In podcast, a White House official told Reuters. U.S. power demand is hitting record highs this year after nearly two decades of stagnation as AI and cloud computing data centers balloon in numbers and size across the country. The demand is also leading to unprecedented deals between the power industry and technology companies, including the attempted restart of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania between Constellation Energy CEG.O and Microsoft. The surge has led to concerns about power shortages that threaten to raise electricity bills and increase the risk of blackouts, while slowing Big Tech in its global race against countries like China to dominate AI. Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw; additional reporting by Laila Kearney in New York; Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Stephen Coates, Tomasz Janowski and Marguerita Choy


Technical.ly
3 days ago
- Business
- Technical.ly
Look inside: Scenes from the protest against the $90B corporate pledge to Pennsylvania AI
Officials' enthusiastic promotion of a landmark investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure didn't convince hundreds of people, who gathered on Tuesday to protest how it could hurt their communities. Sen. Dave McCormick's Energy and Innovation Summit, which took place at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), welcomed President Donald Trump, Governor Josh Shapiro and other top political and tech stakeholders to announce a $90 billion pledge from the private sector toward data centers and AI investments. The university faced backlash from the community for both Trump's presence and a lack of focus on the climate consequences of these investments. 'I don't know about you, but I want water for Pennsylvania homes, families and businesses, not Google, AI or ChatGPT,' environmental policy advocate Lauren Posey said, according to PublicSource. Leading up to the summit, CMU staff also spoke up, expressing disappointment in the school's decision to host Trump as he's denied the climate crisis, sparred with higher education institutions and targeted the legal status of international students. 'I don't think it's aligned with the values of many faculty who work on energy and AI at the university,' Emma Strubell, an assistant professor at CMU's Language Technology Institute, told WESA. Here's a look inside the protest.


Time of India
4 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
'We're way ahead of China...': Trump rallies big tech and energy executives for AI race - The Economic Times Video
President Donald Trump joined executives from some of the largest US tech and energy companies for a summit in Pittsburgh on Tuesday (July 15), as the administration prepares new measures to power the country's expansion of artificial intelligence. Trump told an energy summit at Carnegie Mellon University that the United States would be fighting China "in a very friendly fashion." The Energy and Innovation Summit brought together leaders from companies including Meta, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Exxon Mobil to discuss positioning the U.S. as a global leader in AI. The gathering highlighted the growing intersection of technology, energy, and geopolitics as AI becomes critical in sectors ranging from corporate boardrooms to defense. Trump and the summit's host, U.S. Senator Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania, touted some $90 billion in AI and energy investments in the state. 'This is a really triumphant day for the people of the Commonwealth and for the United States of America, we're doing things that nobody ever thought possible,' Trump told attendees. Trump has launched a global trade war in recent years, imposing tariffs of at least 10% on many nations and even steeper duties on others, part of a broader effort to reshape global trade and outcompete China in critical sectors like AI.

The Hindu
4 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Trump joins tech and energy executives amid AI push
U.S. President Donald Trump will join executives from some of the largest U.S. tech and energy companies for a summit in Pittsburgh on Tuesday as the administration prepares more measures to power the U.S. expansion of artificial intelligence. Top economic rivals, the U.S. and China, are locked in a technological arms race over who can dominate AI as the technology takes on increasing importance everywhere from corporate boardrooms to the battlefield. The Energy and Innovation Summit at Carnegie Mellon University is expected to bring tech executives and officials from top energy and tech firms, including Meta, Microsoft, Alphabet and Exxon Mobil, to discuss how to position the U.S. as a leader in AI. Trump will use the summit, arranged by U.S. Senator Dave McCormick, a Republican ally from Pennsylvania, to announce about $90 billion in artificial intelligence and energy investments in the state. McCormick said in his introductory remarks "the stakes couldn't be higher," even as Nvidia and AMD prepared to resume selling their chips to U.S. rival China. 'If the United States does not lead this revolution on our own terms, we will hand control of our infrastructure, our data, our leadership and our way of life to the Chinese Communist Party,' he said. Big Tech is scrambling to secure enough electricity to power the energy-guzzling data centers needed for its rapid expansion of artificial intelligence. Companies began announcing their plans early on Tuesday, with Google inking a $3 billion electricity deal and CoreWeave touting a $6 billion AI data center. Google said it secured as much as 3 gigawatts of U.S. hydropower in a deal between the tech firm and Brookfield Asset Management that includes initial 20-year power purchase agreements, for electricity generated from two facilities in Pennsylvania. Asset management firm Blackstone's President Jon Gray also said they will announce on Tuesday a $25 billion investment in data centers and energy infrastructure in Pennsylvania. The CEOs expected to attend include Khaldoon Al-Mubarak of Abu Dhabi investment company Mubadala, Rene Haas of Arm, Larry Fink of BlackRock, Darren Woods of Exxon Mobil, Brendan Bechtel of Bechtel and Dario Amodei of Anthropic. The White House is considering executive actions in the coming weeks to make it easier for power-generating projects to connect to the grid and also provide federal land on which to build the data centers needed to expand AI technology, Reuters previously reported. The administration is also weighing streamlining permitting for data centers by creating a nationwide Clean Water Act permit, rather than requiring companies to seek permits on a state-by-state basis. Trump ordered his administration in January to produce an AI Action Plan that would make "America the world capital in artificial intelligence" and reduce regulatory barriers to its rapid expansion. That report, which includes input from the National Security Council, is due by July 23. Trump is set to mark that deadline with a major speech as part of an event titled 'Winning the AI Race,' organised by White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks and his co-hosts on the All-In podcast, a White House official told Reuters. U.S. power demand is hitting record highs this year after nearly two decades of stagnation as AI and cloud computing data centers balloon in numbers and size across the country. The demand is also leading to unprecedented deals between the power industry and technology companies, including the attempted restart of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania between Constellation Energy and Microsoft. The surge has led to concerns about power shortages that threaten to raise electricity bills and increase the risk of blackouts, while slowing Big Tech in its global race against countries like China to dominate AI.