This Month
Google to build data centre on Christmas Island
The search engine giant signed a cloud deal with the Department of Defence this year to build the facility, whose details remain secret, on Christmas Island.
Iren’s $15b Microsoft mega-deal sign of an AI surge that won’t stop
Daniel Roberts, a former Macquarie banker who runs the Nasdaq-listed data centres business, says the agreement is only the first of many as demand booms.
Amazon inks $58b deal with OpenAI for Nvidia chips
The ChatGPT maker will pay Amazon Web Services for access to hundreds of thousands of Nvidia graphics processing units as part of a seven-year deal.
Microsoft signs $14.8b deal with Australian data centre firm
Sydney-based Iren will provide Microsoft with data centres for artificial intelligence under a five-year deal that is expected to generate billions in revenue.
October
Amazon shares surge on better-than-expected cloud revenue
Amazon Web Services posted revenue of $50 billion, an increase of 20 per cent from the prior year and the biggest year-over-year rise since the end of 2022.
APRA warns of concentration risk as banks move to US cloud providers
The prudential regulator will ramp up supervision of lenders’ AI and IT deployment as they become more reliant on single-source suppliers of data and models.
CBA escaped the AWS crash. But what if it happens again?
CBA was not affected by the AWS outage even though it became the first Australian bank to move to a single cloud provider two weeks earlier.
Oliver Curtis’ Firmus inks $73.3b ‘AI factory’ plan with Nvidia, CDC
Firmus said the plan to build the centres, dubbed ‘AI factories’, may cost up to $73.3 billion by the time they are operational in 2028.
CBA moves its entire core banking system into Amazon’s cloud
The migration of Commonwealth Bank’s retail, business and institutional systems is an Australian first and one of the biggest moves to the cloud by any bank globally.
September
CoreWeave expands OpenAI deals to as much as $34b
The rise of neoclouds, and the rush of capital they’re receiving, has reinforced that demand for AI infrastructure remains strong among big tech.
How many data centres Australia needs and where they will go
Growing demand is creating competition in Australia’s two largest cities to host them. But each faces challenges that will shape what they can offer.
Di Pilla’s DigiCo hires ex-AirTrunk boss as data centre race heats up
HMC Capital’s David Di Pilla has hired former AirTrunk executive Michael Juniper to help lift the performance of its data centre group REIT DigiCo.
August
Short sellers squeezed as NextDC surges on AI investment plans
The data centre developer has spent a record amount on infrastructure to chase the AI boom this year. Now it’s hunting for a joint venture partner.
Telstra mobile customers trading down to cheaper plans
Australia’s biggest telco delivered a strong increase in annual net profit to $2.34 billion. But its mobile phone customers are seeking cheaper options.
AUKUS prompts data centre operator to plan $415m Perth project
The Canberra-based company plans to spend an initial $415 million to build its first facility in WA as defence and security needs increase.
July
Microsoft’s Azure cloud revenue surges as AI spending pays off
The tech giant’s cloud-computing business is showcasing the growing returns on its massive artificial intelligence bets.
Alphabet slips after boosting guidance for capital expenditures
The search giant said capital expenditures would be about $15 billion more than the company guided earlier this year amid surging demand for cloud services.
The crucial area where Australia is falling behind in the AI race
We need “AI factories” that can run advanced artificial intelligence models to transform raw data into valuable predictions, analysis, automation, drug discoveries and more.
June
Xero makes $4b play to break into lucrative US market
The ASX-listed accounting software giant says it will buy Melio Payments to expand quickly in America, where its efforts to grow have stalled.
Victoria claims a land advantage in the data centre race
Even as states try to balance the needs of computing with other purposes, they see a big prize in hosting artificial intelligence-supporting infrastructure.