• Meta is eliminating approximately 200 positions in the San Francisco Bay Area as part of team restructuring.
• The layoffs support heavy investments in AI infrastructure and long-term tech priorities.
• This reflects broader industry shifts where companies trim staff to allocate resources toward generative AI development.
• The US-led military campaign struck Iran's B1 bridge near Karaj, one of the tallest structures in the Middle East, causing significant collapse, civilian casualties, and outrage in Tehran.
• President Trump shared footage of the strike on social media, warned Iran of more attacks, and hinted at targeting additional infrastructure if Tehran does not agree to a deal.
• In retaliation, Iranian state media and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps published a list of eight major Gulf and regional bridges as potential targets for counter-strikes, signaling dangerous escalation.
International law experts ‘seriously concerned’ about ‘strikes on schools, health centres and homes’ in contravention of Geneva conventionsDonald Trump, other senior US officials and their cheerleaders appear to be embracing attacks – and threats of attacks – on Iranian civilian infrastructure, which legal experts say appears to constitute serious war crimes under international law.In his rambling national address on Wednesday, the US president warned that if Iran did not reach an unspecified deal with him, US forces would “hit each and every one of their electric-generating plants” and “bring [Iran] back to the stone ages – where they belong”. Continue reading...
• NATO formally condemned coordinated Russian cyber attacks launched against critical infrastructure in three alliance member states, including Estonia, Lithuania, and Romania, on April 1-2, 2026.
• The attacks targeted power grid control systems and financial networks, with NATO officials attributing the operations to Russian GRU military intelligence with "high confidence" based on forensic analysis and technical signatures.
• The incident prompted emergency meetings of the NATO Cyber Defence Centre in Tallinn and triggered Article 5 threat assessment protocols, though military responses remain under deliberation among member states.
• CoreWeave, Inc. (CRWV) shares jumped 12% after securing an $8.5 billion loan to scale its AI infrastructure.
• The financing strengthens investor confidence in CoreWeave's expansion plans amid booming demand for AI computing power.
• This deal highlights growing capital inflows into AI-focused firms, potentially accelerating sector growth in 2026.
• The FCC has implemented new supply chain security rules prohibiting the sale of foreign-made consumer routers in the United States.
• The ban is part of a broader US telecom infrastructure sovereignty initiative aimed at reducing dependence on foreign manufacturing for critical networking equipment.
• The regulation targets Wi-Fi routers as strategic infrastructure components vulnerable to supply chain compromise and foreign surveillance.
• President Donald Trump warned Monday via Truth Social that if Iran does not open the Strait of Hormuz and a deal is not reached "shortly," the US will "blow up and completely obliterate" Iran's electric generating plants, oil wells, and Kharg Island.
• US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington is close to achieving its objectives in Iran "in a matter of weeks" and that Trump has "a number of options available" to prevent Iran from controlling the strategic waterway.
• The threat comes as 3,500 US Marines and sailors aboard the USS Tripoli arrive in the Middle East, joining over 50,000 American troops already in the region, with hundreds of Navy SEALs also deployed.
• Perplexity announced b.well as the infrastructure partner behind its health data integration, enabling citation-backed AI search capabilities for actual patient records and medical information retrieval.
• The partnership aligns with broader industry trends toward integrating large language models with electronic health record systems, following OpenAI's ChatGPT Health launch and other healthcare AI initiatives.
• b.well has emerged as a significant health AI infrastructure company, having also launched bailey (a white-label health assistant) and expanded partnerships with Samsung to transform Galaxy phones into portable health records with point-of-care data sharing.
• The Israeli Defense Force conducted widespread strikes targeting Iran's missile and nuclear infrastructure on Thursday, marking escalation in the month-long Operation Roaring Lion with strikes on facilities including the Arak Reactor.
• Oil prices surged and US stock markets fell sharply Thursday amid renewed uncertainty about potential conflict resolution, with investors expressing doubt over prospects for ending the Iran war.
• The escalation coincides with Houthi forces joining the conflict through attacks on Israel and a critical April 6 deadline for potential wider regional military engagement.
• The United States hosts nearly 5,500 data centers and accounts for three-quarters of the world's computing power as of May 2025, providing a substantial advantage over China in the global AI race according to EpochAI research.
• America's semiconductor superiority remains the primary AI advantage, with Nvidia chips significantly outperforming China's most powerful Huawei-produced chips in both processing power and bandwidth memory, and the performance gap will increase substantially in coming years.
• ByteDance plans to invest $23 billion this year on AI infrastructure including chips, while US companies are coordinating with the White House to secure additional grid capacity for data centers to prevent consumer price hikes.
Energy and oil sites across region would become ‘legitimate targets’, Tehran saysMiddle East crisis live – latest updatesIran has said it will “irreversibly destroy” essential infrastructure across the Middle East if the US attacks its energy sites, hours after Donald Trump threatened to “obliterate” the country’s power plants if the strait of Hormuz was not opened within two days.As Iranian missiles struck two southern Israeli cities overnight, injuring dozens and shattering apartment buildings, the developments signalled a dangerous potential escalation of the war in the Middle East, which is now in its fourth week. Continue reading...
Foreign minister issues warning after Israeli attack on South Pars gasfield that prompted retaliatory strike on Qatar. Plus, what happened to the Oscars red carpet after the ceremony?Good morning.Iran has said it will show “zero restraint” if its energy infrastructure is targeted again as Qatar revealed that almost a fifth of its liquefied natural gas export capacity had been knocked out in an Iranian strike that is likely to have a years-long impact.What did Araghchi say? In a post on X, he said: “Our response to Israel’s attack on our infrastructure employed FRACTION of our power. The ONLY reason for restraint was respect for requested de-escalation. ZERO restraint if our infrastructures are struck again.”What’s the forecast for next week? More heat is in store for the coming days. By the end of the week, 100 cities could set all-time temperature records for the month of March, with temperatures climbing as high as 30F (17C) above average for the time of year, the new analysis says. Continue reading...
Foreign minister issues warning after Israeli attack on South Pars gasfield, as Qatar reels from retaliatory strike‘Doomsday scenario’: a visual guide to the oil and gas site attacks in the Middle EastMiddle East crisis – live updatesIran said on Thursday it would show “zero restraint” if its energy infrastructure was targeted again, as Qatar revealed that almost one-fifth of its liquefied natural gas export capacity had been knocked out in an Iranian strike, in an attack likely to have a years-long impact.The warning, delivered by the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, follow Israel’s attack on the Iran’s massive South Pars gasfield – which it shares with Qatar – which triggered Iranian retaliatory strikes on Qatar’s Ras Laffan gas complex and other Gulf neighbours, sending stock markets tumbling globally and triggering sharp increases in gas prices. Continue reading...
• Nvidia has announced plans to achieve $1 trillion in revenue over the next seven quarters, requiring average quarterly revenue of approximately $143 billion, nearly triple current levels.
• The company must add around $65 billion in quarterly revenue from current levels, equivalent to Amazon Web Services' or AMD's annual sales each quarter.
• Success depends on sustained AI infrastructure demand, increased production capacity, and supply chain optimization, with projections suggesting Nvidia could need to reach $200 billion per quarter by end of 2027.
• Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang introduced the BlueField-4 STX storage infrastructure and new Vera CPU at the company's GTC conference in California on March 16, with the Vera CPU delivering twice the efficiency and 50% faster performance than traditional processors.
• The Vera Rubin AI platform now has seven new chips in full production destined for the world's largest AI factories, alongside a preview of DLSS 5, described as Nvidia's most significant graphics breakthrough since real-time ray tracing in 2018.
• Growing public skepticism about AI adoption is emerging, with a Pew Research Centre poll showing 50% of US adults feel more concerned than excited about increased AI in daily life, up from 37% in 2021.
The US military reports striking 15,000 targets in Iran since the war began, with President Trump stating forces 'totally obliterated' military sites on Kharg Island vital to Iran's oil network and threatening further action on oil infrastructure. This escalates as Iran reports 43,000 residential and commercial units damaged from US and Israeli strikes. Government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani detailed the widespread destruction on Saturday. Global oil markets remain volatile with Hormuz disruptions.
President Donald Trump announced US forces 'obliterated' military targets on Iran's Kharg Island, primary terminal for its oil exports, prompting threats of escalated retaliation from Iran's Parliament speaker. Iranian media reported 15 explosions on the island targeting air defenses, naval bases, and helicopter hangars, with no oil facilities damaged. The strikes coincide with Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz, halting shipping and surging global oil prices, as the US considers Navy escorts for tankers. Trump warned of further action against Iran's oil infrastructure if attacks continue.
President Donald Trump announced US forces 'obliterated' military targets on Iran's Kharg Island, primary terminal for oil exports, prompting threats of escalated retaliation from Iran's Parliament speaker. Iranian media reported 15 explosions targeting air defenses, naval bases, and airport facilities with no oil damage confirmed. The strikes occur as Iran has halted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting a fifth of global traded oil. Trump warned of further action against Iran's oil assets if disruptions continue.
Meta Platforms is evaluating layoffs impacting at least 20% of its nearly 79,000 employees as of December 31, 2025, to counter escalating AI infrastructure expenses, according to a Reuters report on March 14, 2026. Top executives discussed the plans with senior leaders, marking potentially the largest restructuring since 21,000 job cuts in 2022-2023 if implemented. The move aligns with industry trends, as Amazon recently eliminated 30,000 roles citing AI-driven efficiencies. A Meta spokesperson dismissed the report as speculative on theoretical approaches, amid broader tech sector adjustments to AI economics.
ByteDance is working with Aolani to deploy approximately 500 Nvidia Blackwell computing systems in Malaysia, comprising roughly 36,000 of Nvidia's most advanced B200 chips, according to reports citing people familiar with the matter. The hardware deployment is valued at more than $2.5 billion and represents a significant effort by the Chinese tech giant to access top-tier AI processors despite US export restrictions. ByteDance's AI portfolio includes Dola chatbot, Dreamina video creation tool, Gauth homework assistant, and Seedance video generation model, which has gained attention for its ability to convert written scripts into realistic short film scenes. The move underscores ongoing tensions around US-China tech competition and export controls on advanced semiconductor technology.
The United States and Israel have conducted the largest attacks yet against Iran on the 14th day of the conflict, hitting approximately 15,000 targets since the war began. President Donald Trump announced that American forces executed "one of the most powerful bombing raids in the History of the Middle East," destroying military targets on Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf, while threatening to target Iranian oil infrastructure if Tehran continues blocking energy flows. Trump stated the U.S. would continue its campaign "as long as necessary" and indicated the Navy would begin escorting ships through the Strait of Hormuz "very soon," signaling further escalation of the two-week regional conflict. The joint international decision to release record oil reserves this week appeared to have minimal impact on crude prices, while the U.S. simultaneously moved to ease Russian oil sanctions over a 30-day period to alleviate rapidly rising energy costs.
President Donald Trump announced that US forces obliterated military targets on Iran's Kharg Island, a key oil export terminal, on March 13, 2026, with Iranian media reporting 15 explosions targeting air defenses, naval bases, and airport facilities but sparing oil infrastructure. Trump warned that Iran's oil infrastructure could be next if retaliation escalates, as the two-week war shows no signs of ending amid ongoing missile and drone attacks on Israel and Gulf states. The strikes heighten global energy risks since Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of world oil passes, potentially driving prices higher despite recent reserve releases. US officials are deploying 2,500 more Marines and an amphibious ship to the Middle East to bolster forces.
Nvidia announced on March 13, 2026, major investments in capital and its latest chips to develop the next layer of AI cloud infrastructure, targeting US data centers. The initiative involves partnerships with hyperscalers to deploy Blackwell GPUs at scale. This positions Nvidia to dominate AI compute markets valued at over $100 billion annually. Experts note it accelerates US leadership in AI amid global competition.