Energy Transfer Signs Long-Term Natural Gas Supply Deal with CloudBurst

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Energy Transfer (ET.N), a leading U.S. pipeline operator, announced a long-term natural gas supply agreement with CloudBurst Data Centers, a private company based in Denver. This deal focuses on supporting the development of CloudBurst’s data center in Central Texas. Shares of Energy Transfer rose by 2.1% following the announcement.

As power demands from AI continue to rise and grid infrastructure advances slowly, many data centers are seeking more direct energy sources, bypassing traditional utilities. This shift is expected to significantly increase natural gas consumption in the coming years.

Under the agreement, Energy Transfer will supply up to 450,000 million British thermal units (MMBtu) of firm natural gas daily through its Oasis Pipeline to CloudBurst’s campus near San Marcos, Texas. The supply is contingent upon CloudBurst making a final investment decision (FID) with its customer. The natural gas will be used to generate nearly 1.2 gigawatts of electric power for the data center’s operations, with the supply set to continue for at least 10 years starting with Phase 1 of the project.

This agreement marks Energy Transfer’s first commercial arrangement to directly supply natural gas to a data center. RBC Capital Markets analyst Elvira Scotto viewed the deal as a promising step for midstream companies looking to expand into the AI and data center sectors.

CloudBurst is expected to make its FID later this year, with the facility potentially becoming operational by the third quarter of 2026.

South Korea’s Spy Agency Raises Concerns Over DeepSeek’s Data Practices

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South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) has raised alarms about the Chinese AI application DeepSeek, accusing it of “excessively” collecting personal data. The NIS claims that the app uses all user input to train itself and has questioned how it handles sensitive national issues, such as the origin of kimchi.

The NIS issued an official notice last week to government agencies, urging them to take extra security precautions due to concerns over DeepSeek’s data collection practices. According to the spy agency, unlike other AI services, DeepSeek records chat histories and captures keyboard input patterns that can identify individuals. It also communicates with Chinese servers, such as volceapplog.com, which raises privacy concerns.

Several South Korean government ministries have already blocked access to DeepSeek, following the lead of Australia and Taiwan, which have also placed restrictions or issued warnings about the app. The NIS also alleged that DeepSeek provides advertisers with unrestricted access to user data and stores South Korean users’ information on servers in China. Under Chinese law, the Chinese government could request access to this data.

The app has also been criticized for providing conflicting responses to sensitive questions based on the language in which they are asked. For instance, when asked about the origin of kimchi, DeepSeek claimed the dish was Korean when the question was posed in Korean, but said it originated in China when asked in Chinese. This issue has been a source of tension between South Korea and China in recent years.

DeepSeek has also faced accusations of censoring politically sensitive topics, such as the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. In response to questions about this, the app allegedly suggests users “Let’s talk about something else.”

DeepSeek did not respond to requests for comment. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, when asked about South Korea’s actions, emphasized China’s commitment to data privacy and security, stating that the Chinese government ensures data protection in accordance with the law.

Tower Semiconductor Predicts Strong Q1 Revenue Amid Robust Auto Sector Demand

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Tower Semiconductor (TSEM.TA), an Israeli contract chipmaker, has forecasted slightly higher-than-expected first-quarter 2025 revenue, driven by steady demand for its chips, particularly from the automobile sector. The company’s U.S.-listed shares rose by 1% in premarket trading following the announcement.

Tower specializes in manufacturing analog and mixed-signal semiconductors, which are primarily used in the automobile industry by “fabless” firms that design chips but outsource their production. Despite challenges within the automobile sector, such as difficulties in clearing excess inventory built up during the pandemic and a recent slowdown in demand for electric vehicles, Tower Semiconductor has remained resilient, continuing to supply its chips.

The company is now forecasting first-quarter revenue of $358 million, with a 5% margin of variability. This projection slightly exceeds analysts’ expectations of $357.5 million, according to LSEG data. For the fourth quarter, Tower reported revenue of $387.2 million, meeting analyst forecasts. However, its net profit for the quarter ending December 31 came in at $55.1 million, below the expected $58.7 million, mainly due to increased costs from its new greenfield chipmaking facility in Agrate, Italy.

On an adjusted basis, the company posted quarterly profit of 59 cents per share, surpassing analyst estimates of 52 cents per share.