Google Resolves Global Service Outage Affecting Multiple Platforms

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Alphabet’s Google announced on Thursday that it had resolved a brief global outage that disrupted several of its core services, including Google Chat, Google Meet, Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, Google Cloud Search, Google Tasks, and Google Voice.

The disruption also impacted third-party platforms reliant on Google Cloud infrastructure, such as music streaming service Spotify and messaging app Discord, as well as Snapchat. The outage began around 1:50 p.m. ET and caused widespread service interruptions across multiple regions.

At the peak of the outage, tracking website Downdetector.com recorded approximately 46,000 outage reports for Spotify and nearly 11,000 reports for Discord in the U.S. alone. Google Cloud’s engineering teams worked swiftly to mitigate the issue, and by 6:18 p.m. ET, outage reports had significantly decreased to just over 1,000 for Spotify and around 200 for Discord.

Google stated it will publish a detailed analysis after completing an internal investigation into the incident.

AMD Unveils AI Server and Chips as OpenAI Joins Development Effort

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AMD CEO Lisa Su introduced a major new line of AI hardware on Thursday, unveiling both the MI350 and MI400 series of AI chips and announcing plans to release the company’s first AI server, called “Helios,” in 2026. The launch signals AMD’s most direct challenge yet to Nvidia’s dominance in the AI server and chip market.

The announcement was made at AMD’s “Advancing AI” developer conference in San Jose, California. The Helios servers will house 72 MI400 chips, designed to compete directly with Nvidia’s current NVL72 servers powered by its Blackwell processors. In a notable difference from Nvidia’s closed ecosystem, Su emphasized that many aspects of AMD’s server and networking standards would be openly available to the broader industry, including rivals like Intel.

“The future of AI is not going to be built by any one company or in a closed ecosystem. It’s going to be shaped by open collaboration across the industry,” Su stated.

Su was joined on stage by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who confirmed that OpenAI is already working with AMD on its MI450 chips to help optimize them for AI workloads. Altman remarked on OpenAI’s rapid infrastructure growth, calling the pace “crazy” and noting continued expansion with AMD’s hardware.

Executives from Meta Platforms, Elon Musk’s xAI, and Oracle also appeared during the event to showcase how their companies are adopting AMD’s processors. Additionally, Crusoe, a cloud provider specializing in AI, disclosed plans to purchase $400 million worth of AMD’s new chips.

Despite the announcement, AMD shares slipped 2.2%, with analysts suggesting the company still faces significant headwinds in dislodging Nvidia’s dominant market position. Summit Insights analyst Kinngai Chan noted that the newly announced products are unlikely to shift the competitive balance immediately.

AMD has aggressively expanded its AI capabilities over the past year, completing its acquisition of server manufacturer ZT Systems in March and making 25 strategic investments in AI-related startups. The company recently hired engineers from Untether AI and Lamini, further strengthening its chip design and software development teams.

However, AMD’s ROCm software stack continues to lag behind Nvidia’s highly entrenched CUDA platform, which many in the industry see as a major factor behind Nvidia’s dominance.

Nevertheless, AMD remains optimistic about its growth prospects, even as U.S. export controls tighten on AI chip sales to China. When reporting earnings in May, Su reiterated expectations for strong double-digit growth in AI chip sales despite these headwinds.

Micron Expands US Investment by $30 Billion Amid Trump’s Onshoring Push

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Micron Technology announced on Thursday a significant expansion of its U.S. investment plans, adding $30 billion to its existing commitments as President Donald Trump intensifies efforts to bring semiconductor manufacturing back to American soil. The memory chip maker now projects total investments of $200 billion, up from previous plans of approximately $125 billion.

The new funding will support the construction of a second cutting-edge memory fabrication facility in Boise, Idaho, and the expansion of its manufacturing site in Manassas, Virginia. “These investments are designed to allow Micron to meet expected market demand, maintain share and support Micron’s goal of producing 40% of its DRAM in the U.S.,” the company stated.

Micron’s DRAM chips are widely used in personal computers, automotive systems, industrial equipment, wireless communications, and artificial intelligence. The company’s High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM) products are seen as essential for powering next-generation AI models. About $50 billion of Micron’s total investment will be dedicated to research and development.

President Trump’s administration has pushed hard for semiconductor onshoring, with Trump threatening new tariffs on chip imports and reconsidering previous subsidies granted under former President Joe Biden. In December, Micron secured nearly $6.2 billion in government subsidies through Biden’s $52.7 billion 2022 CHIPS and Science Act. Trump’s administration is now renegotiating some of those grants, according to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

The expansion aligns with broader trends in the U.S. semiconductor industry. Nvidia, a key customer of Micron, announced plans in April to build AI servers worth up to $500 billion in the U.S. over the next four years, in partnership with firms such as Taiwan’s TSMC. “Micron’s investment in advanced memory manufacturing and HBM capabilities in the U.S., with support from (the) Trump administration, is an important step forward for the AI ecosystem,” said Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.

Micron also finalized a $275 million direct funding award under the CHIPS Act to further support its Manassas facility expansion.