Tech news picked on 2026-08-20
While $1 Trillion Moves in AI Infrastructure, South Korea's Power Approval Rate Was 1.9%
- Among the $1 trillion global private equity investments in the first half of this year, the largest deal was a $10 billion data center company established by KKR, whose acquisition list includes power plants and transmission and distribution networks.
- During the same period, out of 522 power applications for data centers in the Seoul metropolitan area, only 10 were approved, a 1.9% approval rate.
- For teams renting infrastructure, the power clauses in contracts can affect expenditures more significantly two years later than GPU price negotiations.
Next-Gen Consoles Could Start at $1,000 If Memory Prices Don't Drop
- Ampere Analysis predicts that if next-gen consoles launch at $1,000 instead of $700, sales will drop by 39 million units in the first five years.
- Kagan from S&P Global expects component prices to fall around 2028, making $600-$800 consoles feasible.
- However, Microsoft noted in their August Xbox price increase notice that memory prices will double again by fall 2027.
- Teams managing console sales should prepare two separate price scenarios.
Layoffs Lowest in Two Years, but AI Remains the Top Reason for Five Consecutive Months
- In July, U.S. layoffs announced totaled 33,429, the lowest in two years, and the cumulative total from January to July is 41% lower than last year.
- However, AI has been the number one reason for layoffs for five consecutive months.
- When the total amount decreases but its proportion increases, it raises doubts about what that term actually measures.
- When reading layoff news, it is more useful to consider the number of cases rather than the proportion, and to look at hiring pages from the same quarter rather than only the reasons.