IT infrastructure
1. Vodafone debuts 5G MPN at Czech nuclear power plant
The carrier says the MPN “paves the way for augmented reality glasses to support the work of technicians”. (Datacenterdynamics)
2. GlobalNet boosts network with Zurich PoP
Amsterdam-Based ISP Launches First Swiss PoP at Equinix ZH4 Data Centre. (Telecom Talk)
3. Empyrion Digital expands to Japan, plans 25MW AI data centre in Tokyo
Company to break ground next year for a 2027 launch. (Datacenterdynamics)
4. Cellnex to acquire six telecom towers from NOS in Portugal
The deal, subject to regulatory approval, would see Cellnex’s Portuguese arm purchase macro-sites that support wireless communication networks. (Capacity)
Tech trends
5. Brazilian Supreme Court panel upholds X ban, while Starlink refuses to comply
A Brazilian Supreme Court panel on Monday unanimously upheld the decision of one of its justices to block billionaire Elon Musk’s social media platform X nationwide, according to the court’s website. (Voanews)
6. Lenovo leak shows cheaper Copilot Plus PCs coming this month
The IFA PC hardware trade show will officially begin this week in Berlin, Germany, but some of the announcements planned for that show may have already leaked. (Neowin)
7. Boeing’s Starliner started making a repeating ‘pulsing’ sound yesterday
US astronaut Barry Wilmore called NASA ground crew on Saturday, asking for help with a repetitive knocking sound that was coming from the Boeing Starliner craft. (MSN)
8. Apple’s rumored Mac Mini redesign may ditch the USB-A port
As always, Apple’s new Mac products, as well as the new iPhone series, have been much-awaited. Currently, speculation points towards the tech giant releasing MacBooks featuring the new M4 chip later this year. (PCGUIDE)
9. SpaceX resumes Falcon 9 launches after the FAA clears it for flight
SpaceX resumed launches of its Falcon 9 rocket early Aug. 31 after the Federal Aviation Administration ended a brief grounding of the vehicle. (SpaceNews)
AI
10. SparkLabs closes $50M fund to back AI startups
SparkLabs — an early-stage venture capital firm that has made a name for itself for backing OpenAI as well as a host of other AI startups such as Vectara, Allganize, Kneron, Anthropic, xAI, Glade (YC S23) and Lucidya AI — is gearing up to double down more startups in the space. (StartupNews)
11. Amazon hires the founders of AI robotics startup Covariant
Amazon announced Friday evening that it has hired Covariant’s founders — Pieter Abbeel, Peter Chen, and Rocky Duan — along with “about a quarter” of the startup’s employees. It’s also signed a non-exclusive license to use Covariant’s robotic foundation models. (TechCrunch)
12. Meta reports massive spike in cloud demand for its Llama AI models
Figures from Meta suggest that demand for its AI models from cloud partners grew 10 times from January to July, with users hungry to access its mammoth Llama 3.1 model. (Capacity)
IoT
13. UK will predict droughts and floods with real-time sensors
A new £40 million project will see scientists utilise real-time data to better predict the locations of future droughts and floods across the UK. (IoT Tech News)
