Tells Tech

• Salesforce has agreed to acquire Fin, an Irish-founded company, in a deal valued at $3.6 billion. • This acquisition represents one of the largest technology deals involving an Irish firm, highlighting the country's growing role as a global tech hub. • The move underscores Salesforce's strategic bet on the future of AI, leveraging Ireland's strong ecosystem of cloud computing, fintech, and data services.

• EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson (Jorgensen) has urged Big Tech companies to align AI data centers with climate goals by supporting clean power and recycling waste heat. • The directive comes ahead of the June 3 unveiling of the European Technological Sovereignty Package, which features a Cloud and AI Development Act. • This legislative package aims to triple the European Union's data center capacity within the next five to seven years.

• ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet has criticized the European Union's aggressive pursuit of technology independence, questioning the logic of intervening in global semiconductor supply chains. • Fouquet argued that the EU lacks the necessary infrastructure to support such a stance, delivering a "blunt reality check" to policymakers in Brussels. • This tension highlights the struggle between the EU's desire for strategic autonomy and the practical realities of the highly globalized chip industry.

• The European Central Bank (ECB) has urged eurozone banks to accelerate their technological upgrades to combat rising cyber risks driven by artificial intelligence. • In its supervisory priorities for 2026–2028, the ECB reported that significant cyber incidents have doubled in recent years, identifying operational resilience as a primary concern. • The move highlights a growing gap in regulatory approaches, as the ECB takes a proactive stance while U.S. regulators have yet to set formal expectations regarding AI-driven threats.

• Leena Ylä-Mononen, head of the European Environment Agency, is urging the EU to mandate that Big Tech companies disclose the energy and water consumption of their data centers. • The call for transparency comes as the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure threatens to increase the ecological footprint of the digital sector. • This move is critical to prevent tech giants from hiding the environmental costs associated with training and running large-scale AI models.