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iGenius to Complete $1B Data Centre Project with Nvidia by Summer

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Italian AI startup iGenius is on track to complete a $1 billion data centre project in southern Italy by the summer, utilizing Nvidia technology. The project, which will span five years, has prompted the company to extend its funding round from an initial target of 650 million euros. CEO Uljan Sharka shared that the new supercomputer built for the data centre will perform at an extraordinary rate, capable of executing 115 billion calculations per second. This marks a significant leap from Europe’s previous top supercomputers, which could handle only 0.5 billion calculations per second until last year.

The data centre will be powered by Nvidia’s advanced Blackwell chips, providing 35 times more computing power than their predecessors, while using 25 times less energy. The facility will house 80 of Nvidia’s most powerful servers, each containing 72 Blackwell chips. Southern Italy was chosen as the site for the project due to its surplus of renewable energy capacity, which will help meet the high power demands of the supercomputing operation.

iGenius, founded in 2016, is one of the few AI startups in Europe valued at over $1 billion, competing with other industry players such as France’s Mistral and Germany’s DeepL. The company recently launched Colosseum 355B, a large language model designed specifically for industries with stringent data protection needs, including finance, heavy industry, and government sectors. iGenius differentiates itself from competitors like OpenAI by providing open-source AI models for companies to run on their own infrastructure, allowing for greater control over sensitive data.

 

J.P. Morgan Forecasts Data Center Spending Could Boost US GDP by 20 Basis Points in 2025-2026

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J.P. Morgan projects that spending on data centers could add between 10-20 basis points to the U.S. economy in 2025-2026, driven by the ongoing surge in technology investments fueled by the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. The growing demand for computing power, particularly following OpenAI’s launch of ChatGPT in 2022, has accelerated investments in data centers, which support the infrastructure necessary for AI development.

Major cloud companies, such as Microsoft and Alphabet, have been heavily investing in AI technologies, and J.P. Morgan anticipates that these investments will significantly contribute to U.S. gross domestic product (GDP). The economic boost is expected to stem from increased demand for data center construction, technology equipment, and power generation and transmission infrastructure. According to the bank’s estimates, data center spending could have contributed 0.1%-0.3% to GDP growth in 2024.

Additionally, J.P. Morgan noted that each new 5-10 gigawatt power generation capacity expansion could require up to $20 billion in investment, which would add 7 basis points to GDP. As U.S. power consumption is expected to hit record levels in 2025 and 2026, the federal government has taken action to support this growth, with President Joe Biden signing an executive order aimed at addressing the massive energy needs of rapidly expanding AI data centers.

The data center sector’s economic impact is expected to continue in the coming years, driven by advancements in AI innovation. However, J.P. Morgan cautioned that the long-term success of this growth will depend on whether the expected returns on these investments are realized, similar to previous technology booms.

eBay and Beazley Allegedly Targeted by Sophisticated AI-Generated Phishing Scams

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eBay and several other companies are reportedly facing an uptick in personalized phishing attacks targeting high-level executives. These scams, which are increasingly difficult to detect, are being powered by artificial intelligence (AI) systems designed to make the fraudulent emails appear more human-like. Unlike typical scam messages, which often have obvious signs of deceit, these AI-generated phishing attempts are carefully crafted to bypass traditional security filters. The attackers are using AI to scrape and analyze data from various sources, allowing them to tailor messages with specific personal details that make the emails seem more credible and harder to identify as scams.

The rise in AI-driven phishing attacks has raised concerns across multiple industries, with companies like eBay and Beazley reporting a significant increase in the frequency and sophistication of these fraudulent emails. According to a report from the Financial Times, these phishing attempts are being directed at executives, making them more targeted and harder to defend against. The personal information included in the emails is not random but is reportedly drawn from various public and private data sources, increasing the likelihood of successful manipulation.

Kirsty Kelly, Beazley’s chief information security officer, discussed the troubling nature of these attacks, explaining that the emails’ personal touch suggests the use of AI. Kelly highlighted that the sophistication of these scams implies that attackers have gathered substantial amounts of data about the company’s executives. This data collection likely includes details from social media, public records, and possibly previous data breaches, all of which are used to make the phishing attempts more convincing.

The development of AI-powered phishing scams marks a new chapter in cybersecurity challenges, as traditional security measures are proving insufficient to handle these advanced threats. Organizations are now being forced to reevaluate their security protocols and invest in more sophisticated defenses that can detect these highly personalized attacks. As AI continues to evolve, so too will the tactics used by cybercriminals, making it crucial for companies to stay ahead of these emerging threats.