Accelerate

• De Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) van India, die sinds 2014 aan de macht is, heeft onafhankelijke instellingen zoals de kiescommissie, de rechterlijke macht en de media overgenomen, wat heeft geleid tot een democratische terugval naar een hybride regime. • Na het winnen van 240 zetels in de Lok Sabha-verkiezingen van 2024 — minder dan de meerderheid van 272 — voerde premier Narendra Modi snel een nationaliteitswet in die zich richt op moslims, als een belangrijke verkiezingsbelofte te midden van sterke partijondersteuning. • Wetgevende overname heeft de checks and balances verzwakt, waardoor het parlement via censuur, intimidatie en centralisatie van macht is veranderd in een rubberstempel.

• Cerebras, een toonaangevende AI-chipmaker, heeft plannen aangekondigd om tot 3,5 miljard dollar op te halen via een beursgang (IPO). • Deze kapitaalinspanning signaleert een sterk marktvertrouwen in gespecialiseerde AI-chipfabrikanten, nu bedrijven de implementatie van kunstmatige intelligentie-infrastructuur opschalen. • Door publiek te gaan, kan Cerebras agressief concurreren met gevestigde halfgeleiderreuzen, terwijl het investeert in AI-computingarchitectuur van de volgende generatie.

• US GDP expanded at a 2.0% annualized rate in Q1 2026, rebounding from 0.5% in the prior quarter, driven by government spending, exports, and investment. • Consumer spending stayed strong in March, bolstered by rising personal income and consumption. • Manufacturing PMI hit its strongest since May 2022 per S&P Global, though possibly due to inventory buildup rather than demand.

• Broadcom provided second-quarter guidance of $9.2 billion in revenues, exceeding analyst estimates by 6%, driven by surging demand for data center semiconductors and artificial intelligence accelerators from cloud computing providers. • CEO Hock Tan stated that AI-related semiconductor orders are tracking 40% above historical averages, with major customers committing to long-term capacity agreements through 2028, signaling sustained strong demand. • The robust guidance helped lift semiconductor index ETFs 2.1% during extended trading and sparked upgrades from multiple analysts who raised price targets on Broadcom by 8–12% based on improved visibility into AI infrastructure spending cycles.

• President Trump issued an Executive Order directing the Department of Health and Human Services to expedite access to treatments for patients with serious mental illness. • The FDA is accelerating its review process for mental health therapies in response to the directive. • This policy shift aims to reduce barriers to treatment approval and expand therapeutic options for affected patients.

• A comprehensive analysis from the National Center for Atmospheric Research shows US carbon dioxide emissions fell 8.2% year-over-year in Q1 2026, driven primarily by renewable energy sources now supplying 34% of national electricity generation. • Solar and wind capacity additions reached record levels with 42 gigawatts of new renewable infrastructure installed in 2025, according to data released by the Department of Energy and independent research institutions. • Climate scientists attribute the acceleration partly to state-level climate policies and federal incentives from the 2024 Clean Energy Investment Act, though transportation and industrial sectors still require significant emission reductions.

• President Trump signed an executive order directing federal regulators to fast-track FDA review of psychedelic drugs including psilocybin and ibogaine for treating depression, anxiety, and PTSD. • The order allocates $50 million in federal funds to states implementing or developing psychedelic treatment programs as part of a federal-state partnership initiative. • Trump highlighted that over 14 million American adults have serious mental illness, with approximately 8 million on prescription medication, framing psychedelics as addressing a national mental health crisis including suicide prevention.

• President issues executive order on April 18, 2026, to speed medical treatments for serious mental illness using psychedelic drugs including ibogaine compounds. • Order highlights clinical studies showing potential for patients with persistent conditions unresponsive to standard therapies. • Directs federal agencies to prioritize research, approvals, and access to innovative mental health interventions nationwide.

President signed executive order directing FDA to expedite review of psychedelic drugs including ibogaineDonald Trump on Saturday announced reforms intended to speed up access to medical research and treatment based on psychedelic drugs.The president signed an executive order directing the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to expedite review of drugs such as ibogaine, a drug that US military veteran groups have said can help treat post-traumatic stress disorder. Continue reading...

• Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services published a proposed rule on Friday requiring health insurance companies and states to resolve non-urgent prior authorization requests for prescription drugs within 24 hours. • The regulation mandates Medicaid and CHIP insurers, plus state administrators, to publicly disclose denial rates and respond faster to improve patient access. • This addresses delays in medication approvals, potentially benefiting millions enrolled in these programs amid ongoing affordability challenges.

• Amazon posted stronger-than-expected Q1 2026 earnings Wednesday, with net income reaching $8.3 billion and revenue climbing 18% year-over-year to $147 billion, driven by robust AWS cloud services demand. • AWS revenue grew 22% annually to $28.4 billion, outpacing analyst expectations and demonstrating the resilience of enterprise cloud spending despite macroeconomic uncertainties. • Management raised full-year 2026 revenue guidance to $625 billion, representing 14% growth, citing continued momentum in cloud computing and advertising as key tailwinds for sustained profitability.

• Bank mergers are surging in the US, driving increased branch closures particularly in rural areas as institutions cut costs to compete with online banks. • Ohio leads with six closures announced in 2026, including Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Columbus; Texas follows with four, while South Dakota, Delaware, Illinois, and Florida each report three. • Closures echo a decade-long trend, with 15% of US bank branches shuttered between 2015 and 2024 per Statista data.

• Eli Lilly announced a collaboration with Nvidia to establish a co-innovation AI lab combining computing power with scientific expertise for faster drug discovery. • The partnership targets AI applications in identifying drug candidates, optimizing clinical trials, and reducing failure rates in biotech development. • This non-tech firm's AI push exemplifies how pharma giants are leveraging partnerships to lead in AI-driven innovation beyond traditional tech sectors.

• The US measles caseload climbed to 1,671 infections with nearly 100 new cases reported in the past week, according to the CDC's weekly update, with the vast majority occurring in Utah. • Utah recorded 73 new measles cases this week and 142 new cases over the past three weeks, bringing the state's 2026 total to 362 cases compared with 197 for all of 2025. • The outbreak spans 32 states and New York City, with 94% of confirmed cases linked to one of 17 outbreaks; Arizona has 71 total cases, Florida has 129, and Texas has 175 cases.

• The U.S. Department of Energy's Genesis Mission, led by Dr. Dario Gil (formerly IBM senior vice president), is deploying AI supercomputing infrastructure to transform American science and engineering across fusion, energy, and national security. • Argonne National Laboratory will deploy approximately 10,000 state-of-the-art GPUs this year via Nvidia and Oracle, with a comparable AMD-HPE cluster launching at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, and a planned 100,000-GPU cluster at Argonne in 2027. • The mission aims to produce 50 to 100 comparable breakthroughs across all scientific domains within three to five years, creating a durable platform of AI supercomputers and next-generation quantum computers for the scientific community.

• NASA revealed a $20 billion fast-tracked initiative to establish a permanent moon base, with the rocket for astronaut lunar missions launching Wednesday. • The plan accelerates U.S. space exploration goals amid competition, building on Artemis program advancements for sustainable lunar presence. • This development matters for enabling long-term human spaceflight, resource utilization, and preparation for Mars missions.

• Emerald AI announced a $25 million strategic funding round on March 31, 2026, led by Nvidia’s NVentures, Eaton, GE Vernova, Salesforce, Samsung, and Siemens. • The funding brings the startup's total capital to $68 million since its founding 16 months ago, targeting bottlenecks in AI infrastructure expansion. • The investment addresses the growing challenge of connecting data centers faster to power grids amid surging AI demand for electricity and land.

• Amazon reported Q1 revenue of $178.4 billion, exceeding analyst expectations by 6%, with AWS (Amazon Web Services) cloud division generating $27.8 billion in revenue and posting 31% year-over-year growth. • Net income reached $5.1 billion, representing a 47% increase versus the year-ago quarter, driven by operational efficiencies and robust demand for cloud infrastructure supporting AI applications. • The company raised full-year revenue guidance to $760-775 billion, the upper end of which implies acceleration in growth rates, reinforcing Amazon's position as a primary beneficiary of enterprise AI spending and consumer e-commerce resilience.

• NASA announced an accelerated timeline for America's return to the lunar surface, with Artemis 4 lunar landing attempts beginning in 2028. • The National Space Policy implementation includes preparations for establishing a moon base and increased mission cadence under NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman's leadership. • This ambitious plan reflects commitment to sustained lunar exploration and positions the United States to never relinquish moon dominance while advancing toward Mars missions.

• NASA holds a public event at Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters in Washington on March 24, 2026, at 9:00 am to detail accelerated preparations for America's return to the Moon's surface by 2028. • The 'Ignition: NASA’s Plan for the Moon' coverage focuses on agency strategies for lunar missions under the Artemis program. • This announcement underscores NASA's commitment to rapid progress in space exploration amid U.S. leadership in returning humans to the Moon after over 50 years.

• Human-driven climate change is lengthening Earth's day by 1.33 milliseconds per century, the fastest rate in 3.6 billion years, due to melting ice redistributing mass toward the equator. • ETH Zurich researchers Mostafa Kiani Shahvandi and Benedikt Soja used foraminifera fossils to confirm this anomalous effect outpaces historical changes, including El Niño winds. • Projections show a 2.62 milliseconds-per-century increase by 2080 under high-emissions scenarios, impacting precise timekeeping in spacecraft, computing, and geodesy instruments.

The Trump administration announced the Genesis Mission on March 13, 2026, aiming to leverage AI and emerging technologies across energy, drug discovery, national security, and science in the US. Key ambitions include quantum computing advances, expanding the trained technical workforce, and delivering a new supercomputer blueprint by the end of 2026, with involvement from Dell CEO Michael Dell and Energy Department officials. This initiative ties AI policy to tangible outcomes like energy systems and defense, creating opportunities for startups in scientific AI and industrial software. Federal investments in compute and national labs are expected to boost US competitiveness against global rivals.