Here’s what you should know today:

• ☁️ Cloud and AI Infra: Oracle Vies for Data Center Supremacy

• 👀 Check This Out: PODCAST: DC Talks Prometheus/Wyoming Hyperscale

• 💲 Capital Markets: Switch IPO, Microsoft+Blackrock+the Saudis, Verizon’s new Frontier

• 🍃 Clean Energy: ECL Announces World’s First 1GW Hydrogen Data Center

☁️ Cloud and AI Infrastructure

Oracle Vies for Data Center Supremacy

Oracle is set to launch its most ambitious project yet: the OCI Supercluster, a cloud supercomputer featuring up to 131,072 Nvidia Blackwell GPUs.

Scheduled for release in the first half of 2025, the system will deliver 2.4 zettaflops of peak performance in FP4 format, over three times more powerful than the Frontier supercomputer, currently the world’s most powerful. 
Oracle's supercluster will surpass the capabilities of competitors' hyperscale systems, with a massive leap in GPU capacity.

Smaller versions of the OCI Supercluster, equipped with Nvidia H100 GPUs, can scale up to 16,384 GPUs, providing up to 65 exaflops of performance. Upcoming H200 Superclusters, expected later this year, will double the GPU count to 65,536 and deliver 260 exaflops.
These systems will also feature Oracle’s NVLink and NVLink Switch technology, enabling high-bandwidth communication between up to 72 Blackwell GPUs per instance.

Check out this little primer video on the OCI Supercluster:

Oracle currently operates 162 cloud data centers worldwide, with some of the largest facilities consuming 800MW of power. Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison also hinted at the construction of even larger data centers, with future developments targeting a 1-gigawatt capacity powered by small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs). Oracle has secured permits for three SMRs, though details on location and timelines remain undisclosed.

With no SMRs yet licensed for commercial construction in the U.S., Oracle’s push into nuclear energy underscores the rising demand for sustainable, low-carbon power in the tech industry. While SMR projects may not be operational until the 2030s, Oracle is positioning itself at the forefront of this energy shift.

In addition to its hardware expansion, Oracle has strengthened its multicloud strategy through partnerships with Azure AI, OpenAI, Google Cloud, and AWS. Oracle’s technology is now embedded directly within AWS data centers, improving performance and enabling Oracle Exadata databases to run natively on AWS infrastructure.

💸 Capital Markets

1. Verizon Buys Frontier Communications: Verizon has confirmed it will acquire Frontier Communications for $20 billion in an all-cash deal, strengthening its fiber network and expanding its customer base. The acquisition will enhance Verizon's ability to compete with AT&T and other rivals in the fiber broadband market, adding Frontier's 2.2 million fiber customers across 25 states.

2. Switch is Exploring IPO: Switch is one of the most innovative operators in the industry. This deal could value them at around $40 billion. Preliminary talks suggest the IPO could take place as early as 2025, as investor interest in AI infrastructure fuels demand for data centers like Switch, which was taken private in 2022 for $11 billion.

3. BlackRock, Microsoft, and Saudis Launch $30B DC & Energy Partnership: The Global AI Infrastructure Investment Partnership (GAIIP) aims to invest in AI-driven data centers and energy infrastructure, unlocking $30 billion in private capital and up to $100 billion in total investments to support AI innovation, sustainable power, and economic growth.

4. 4.2M Sqft Campus Ever Proposed for Georgia: Data Core Innovations is proposing a $1.2 billion data center campus, the Rumble Technology Campus, on a 900-acre site in Monroe County, Georgia. The project aims to include up to 12 buildings totaling 4.2 million square feet, though no end customer has been named yet.

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