Can solar and microgrids handle AI’s energy hunger?

Today, we’re looking at a mind-bending shift in global priorities in 2025, more money will be spent on AI data centers than on oil exploration. It’s a clear signal that AI isn’t just changing tech, it’s redrawing the map of energy, infrastructure, and climate impact. We’re also looking at a moment of rare honesty in the AI world, investors at a top San Francisco summit voted a buzzy search startup as the most likely AI company to fail. It’s a gut-check for hype-fueled valuations and a sign that even billion-dollar momentum won’t protect you from doubt.

In today’s post:

• The AI boom is crashing into the climate crisis

• When your biggest customer vanishes, what do you do next?

• The startup voted “most likely to fail” at an AI summit

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What’s Trending Today

GENERATIVE AI

AI data centers now cost more than oil exploration

The world will spend $580 billion on data centers this year. That’s $40 billion more than we’re spending to find new oil.

Here’s everything you need to know:

• Generative AI isn’t just burning GPUs, it’s reshaping the global energy market.

• A new IEA report shows AI data centers are outpacing oil exploration in investment.

• The U.S. alone could account for half the electricity demand from these centers.

• That’s pushing tech giants like Meta and OpenAI to commit trillions to new builds.

• The upside? Solar and microgrids may be the cheapest, fastest way to power them.

• Startups like Redwood Energy are turning EV battery waste into grid-ready power.

• But the scale is staggering and it’s unclear how much will actually get built.

This isn’t just about energy or AI. It’s about reshaping physical space, infrastructure, and public policy. The AI race could trigger a clean energy renaissance or a grid crisis. Either way, it’s no longer a tech story. It’s a climate story.

STRATEGY

How a Chinese AI founder turned U.S. sanctions into $23B

In 2019, Chen Tianshi’s AI chip startup, Cambricon, nearly collapsed. Huawei, his largest customer, cut off 95% of his revenue overnight.

Here’s everything you need to know:

• Cambricon was a three-year-old startup when Huawei pulled out to build its own chips.

• That should have been the end but geopolitics had other plans.

• As U.S. sanctions throttled China’s access to Nvidia chips, domestic demand surged.

• Cambricon, one of the few homegrown options, became a default pick.

• The Chinese government nudged state-owned firms to buy local, giving Cambricon cover to grow.

• Today, Chen is worth $23 billion and ranks among the richest tech founders under 40.

• But many analysts warn: this rise is powered more by politics than by product.

Chen’s story isn’t just about grit, it’s about the power of timing and regulation.
He didn’t build the best chip. He built the right one at the right time.
For anyone building in tech, it’s a lesson: markets don’t always pick winners, sometimes policy does.

RESEARCH

Investors just picked their top AI loser and it wasn’t OpenAI

At a San Francisco tech summit, over 300 founders and VCs were asked: Which billion-dollar AI startup is most likely to fail?

Here’s everything you need to know:

• The top pick wasn’t a stealth company or a fringe tool, it was Perplexity AI.

• Perplexity has made headlines all year as the “Google killer” in AI-powered search.

• Its valuation has swung wildly between $14B and $50B raising eyebrows.

• Voters pointed to excessive hype, overfunding, and a product still in early traction.

• Surprisingly, OpenAI was second on the list, hinting at broader unease in the market.

• The mood? We’re in a bubble but no one wants to be the first to say it out loud.

• As one VC put it: “Thousands will fail, but some will become generational giants.”

Perplexity topping that list doesn’t mean it’s doomed but it does show how fast sentiment turns in AI. Confidence is fickle, and hype is fragile. If you're building in this space, focus less on momentum, more on durability.

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