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IBM
Data center news, project activity, and monthly briefings for IBM.
Editor's picks
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センサー x LLM でのマルチモーダル化 〜 センサーデータを LLM に入力し異常検知レポート作成させてみた
ABEJA employee Sakai (@Yagami360) published an analysis article comparing several ways to feed sensor time-series data into LLM-based systems for anomaly detection.
- The article benchmarks four approaches: direct prompt input, image conversion to VLM, TSFM-based pipelines using Chronos, and TSFM-based pipelines using TSPulse, all evaluated on NAB sensor datasets.
- It presents implementation flow, accuracy comparisons, and example natural-language anomaly reports generated by gemini-3.5-flash; the post is commentary and experimental analysis rather than a formal product announcement.
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IBM RELEASES SECOND-QUARTER RESULTS
IBM has announced its second-quarter 2026 earnings results and updated full-year guidance.
- IBM said it now expects full-year constant currency revenue growth of 4% to 5% and continues to expect free cash flow to increase by about $1 billion year over year.
- The company reported Q2 2026 revenue of $17.2 billion, net income of $2.2 billion, and said its board approved a $1.69 per share quarterly dividend; IBM also said it will invest more than $10 billion in quantum over five years and remains on track for a large-scale fault-tolerant quantum computer by 2029.
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The World Is Pulling Away From America. Japan Is Leaning In
Japan has announced and advanced a series of investment, governance, and industrial-policy initiatives while deepening alignment with the United States.
- The article says Japan is channeling capital into the U.S. through the $550 billion U.S.–Japan investment deal announced in July 2025, with roughly $400 billion in potential projects identified and the first $2.2 billion loan signed on May 1, 2026.
- It also says Japan joined the Genesis Mission in June as a five-year, $1 billion R&D partnership, and that Japan’s government unveiled a ¥370 trillion (~$2.3 trillion) investment strategy for fiscal 2040, including ¥78.5 trillion for semiconductors.
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Arvind Krishna's Letter to IBM Investors
IBM has announced selected preliminary second-quarter 2026 financial results and disclosed new AI and quantum-related initiatives.
- Revenue was $17.2 billion in Q2 2026, with software revenue up 5%, consulting revenue flat, and infrastructure revenue down 7%; IBM also reported GAAP EPS of $2.27 and operating EPS of $2.93.
- IBM said Lightwell is a $5 billion commitment backed by new frontier AI capabilities, and that it has a letter of intent with the U.S. Department of Commerce to build Anderon, supported by $1 billion in CHIPS incentives and a $1 billion cash contribution from IBM; IBM also plans to invest more than $10 billion in quantum over five years.
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Cloud Hidden, Rationale Unknown: The DMA’s Foggy Attack on AWS and Azure
The article is an opinion/commentary criticizing the European Commission’s preliminary decision to designate AWS and Azure under the Digital Markets Act.
- The author argues the Commission’s preliminary decision would extend the DMA to cloud computing services offered by Amazon’s AWS and Microsoft’s Azure, despite the services not meeting the statute’s quantitative thresholds.
- It says the DMA’s thresholds include €7.5 billion in EU revenue or €75 billion market capitalization for gatekeepers, and 45 million monthly active end users plus 10,000 yearly active business users for core platform services; it also compares AWS and Azure with Spotify and SAP as examples of EU firms allegedly overlooked.
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ST 10476 2026 ADD 52
The European Commission has published the ‘Digital Decade 2026 country report’ assessing Romania’s digital progress and issuing targeted recommendations for connectivity, AI, cloud, cybersecurity and digital public services.
- Main announcement: The Commission assesses Romania’s digital performance and recommends actions including a unified governmental cloud and National Interoperability Platform; it highlights concrete projects such as the Romanian AI Factory (EUR 50 million, 5 years) and Romania’s bid for a Black Sea AI gigafactory (estimated EUR 4–5 billion, up to 1,500 MW zero-emission power).
- Background & details: The report documents funding and milestones: 21% of Romania’s RRP dedicated to digital (EUR 4.5 billion), cohesion digital funding of EUR 3.2 billion, IPCEI participation with > EUR 375 million committed, and NRRP-funded initiatives including the governmental cloud (EUR 500 million) and the PIAS health platform (EUR 100 million, mid-2026 target); it notes gaps in 5G coverage, digital skills, and access to venture finance for startups.
Recent news
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IBM keen on mainframe even after 42% revenue drop in Q2
IBM has said its mainframe portfolio remains strategically important for AI, even as Q2 infrastructure revenue fell and the company lowered its full-year forecast.
- IBM reported Q2 revenue of $3.8 billion in infrastructure, down 7%, with IBM Z revenue sinking 42%; software revenue rose 5% to $7.76 billion driven by hybrid cloud, data, and automation.
- CEO Arvind Krishna said the shortfall was linked to the launch of z17 and customer capex shifting toward servers, storage, and memory; CFO James Kavanaugh said nearly 50% of z17 customers are investing in AI capabilities with Spyre AI accelerator and that clients using Watson X Code Assistant for Z are growing MIPS capacity three times faster.
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Oracle expands Cloud@Customer with new database service for mid-sized workloads
Oracle has announced Base Database Cloud@Customer, a managed database offering for running databases, applications, VMs, and AI agents in customers’ own data centers.
- The new hybrid cloud service combines Base Database Service and Data Infrastructure Cloud@Customer X11; Oracle says it is now generally available and is aimed at enterprises that need data residency, regulatory compliance, and low latency.
- The platform uses two Oracle X11 compute servers with shared all-flash storage, offering up to 60 usable processor cores, 660 GB memory per server, 47.2 TB storage, and 10/25 GbE networking; Oracle did not provide pricing.
- The article frames the launch as especially relevant for regulated industries and for private AI behind the firewall, while noting that analysts expect adoption mainly among existing Oracle customers.
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Patented: Cardio Voyage Innovations’ Dual Heart Valve Device and 172 More Inventions Across North Texas
Dallas Innovates reports that Dallas-Fort Worth ranked No. 8 in U.S. patent production for the week of June 23, 2026, with 173 patents granted.
- 173 patents granted across the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area; the region ranked No. 8 among 250 metros for the week of June 23, 2026.
- The article is a news roundup/commentary on granted patents, not a first-time product or funding announcement; it highlights patents spanning medical devices, AI, transportation, energy, HVAC, networking, and manufacturing.
- No contact emails or phone numbers are provided in the text.
- The story references multiple local inventors and assignees, including Cardio Voyage Innovations, DFW International Airport Board, BNSF Railway, Texas Instruments, Toyota, Halliburton, and Lennox.
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New York State just hit pause on the AI data center boom
New York State has announced a one-year moratorium on new hyperscale data centers while it develops a regulatory framework for permitting, community impacts, and grid protection.
- Governor Kathy Hochul signed an Executive Order described as the “nation’s first moratorium” on new hyperscale data centers, with the state halting environmental permits for up to one year.
- New York will create a Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) and a Community Investment Framework (CIF) within 60 days; the article also says the state is considering a fund tied to aging grid infrastructure and clean energy procurement.
- The proposed community contribution is $1 million per megawatt (MW) of anticipated utility demand per project, implying $50 million for 50 MW and $400 million for 400 MW.
- The piece is a news analysis/commentary article about policy and industry impacts, not a first-hand company announcement; it references prior and current policy moves in New York and quotes analysts on likely market effects.
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IBM targets AI edge with Power server, software upgrades
IBM has announced a new Power11 edge server, AI operations software, and related IBM i development updates.
- IBM Power S1112 is a one-socket Power11 server for distributed and edge locations, with MMA on-chip acceleration and configurations including a 10-core 3.05–4.0 GHz rack model and a 4-core 3.60–4.0 GHz rack/tower model.
- IBM also announced Power Autonomous Operations, a new AI agent for monitoring and resolving issues on Power systems, plus a preview of the Agentic Engine for IBM i and support for Bob AI development tools; Power S1112 is expected to be generally available on July 24, 2026, Power Autonomous Operations on September 23, 2026, and IBM Bob Premium Package for i was generally available on June 24, 2026.
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Quantum Meets the Data Center: Hybrid Systems Take Off
The article explains a shift in quantum computing toward hybrid quantum-classical infrastructure and cites policy support, vendor roadmaps, and conference remarks rather than a single standalone company announcement.
- The U.S. Department of Commerce announced more than $2 billion in incentives in May 2026 to accelerate quantum commercialization, including quantum manufacturing and utility-scale, fault-tolerant systems; the White House followed with a June 2026 Executive Order on the Next Frontier of Quantum Innovation.
- The piece also cites vendor and industry developments: IBM outlined quantum-centric supercomputing in March 2026; Nvidia launched NVQLink at GTC 2026; HPE said in June 2026 it is working with multiple partners on hybrid quantum configurations; and AMD said it is working with OQC and JPMorgan Chase on quantum, AI, and HPC workloads.
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IBM Warns AI Infrastructure Shift Impacts Software Deals, Shares Plunge
IBM has warned that second-quarter revenue and earnings will miss Wall Street expectations, citing a late-quarter shift in customer capex toward servers, storage, and memory. - Revenue is expected to be $17.2 billion for Q2, up 1% year over year, with adjusted EPS of $2.93; IBM shares reportedly fell about 23% after the warning.
- Software revenue rose 5%, consulting revenue was flat, and infrastructure revenue fell 7%; CEO Arvind Krishna said customers moved spend to secure supply-constrained infrastructure ahead of expected price increases, and distributed infrastructure revenue grew 37% with a $500 million backlog.
- The article is a news report/commentary based on IBM’s letter to investors, with additional analyst quotes from IDC, Persistence Analytics Group, and ZK Research interpreting the results as an infrastructure-first AI spending cycle rather than a pullback in AI demand.
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IBM releases preliminary results for Q2 2026, sees shares drop by more than 20 percent
IBM has announced selected preliminary Q2 2026 financial results in a letter from CEO Arvind Krishna to investors.
- The company said quarterly revenue was $17.2 billion in Q2 2026, with 1% YoY growth; infrastructure revenue was down 7%, GAAP gross profit margin was 57.7% and operating margin was 59.4%.
- Krishna said the quarter was hurt by a shortfall in Z performance and the associated software stack, plus clients shifting capex toward servers, storage, and memory; IBM reported free cash flow of $4.8bn and said its full earnings call will be held on July 22, 2026.
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Data Center Hardware Highlights: July 2026
Data Center Knowledge published a roundup of its most-read hardware coverage from June 2026, summarizing industry developments in AI infrastructure rather than announcing a single new project.
- The article highlights HPE, Nvidia, IBM, AWS, QumulusAI, and Qualcomm as the main companies shaping a more systems-focused AI stack, with emphasis on networking, memory supply, CPU strategy, orchestration software, and chip design.
- It references specific developments including Nvidia overtaking rivals in data center Ethernet switching per IDC, AWS launching Graviton5-powered EC2 instances, QumulusAI’s $124 million deal, and Qualcomm’s Meta CPU deal; the piece is a recap/commentary article and not a primary company announcement.
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AI tie-in accelerates quantum usefulness, early adopters say
The article reports that quantum computing is moving toward practical use, with companies and researchers describing hybrid AI-quantum workflows and commercialization timelines.
- Cleveland Clinic says quantum is already being used with AI and high-performance computing to simulate protein complexes up to 12,635 atoms; Lara Jehi says clinically relevant problems may be possible in one or two years.
- Mitsubishi Chemical has been experimenting with quantum since 2018 and aims for production use by end-2026 or early 2027; SoftBank Corp. says it has 21 pilot projects underway and is connecting customers to IBM and Quantinuum machines at Riken through its AI data center.
- The article also cites industry-wide momentum, including 556 pure-play quantum companies, $1.9 billion in 2025 revenue, $12.7 billion in new government funding commitments, and $4.9 billion in new private venture capital investment.
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IBM expands mainframe portfolio with new z17 and LinuxONE Systems offerings
IBM has announced new z17 and LinuxONE systems offerings aimed at helping organizations address cost and space constraints in data center environments.
- The expanded portfolio adds single-frame and rack-mount options for IBM Z and LinuxONE, with IBM saying this is the first time it has offered a full portfolio in these form factors and price points.
- The systems support up to 82 cores and 18TB of memory across two processor drawers, and are designed to reclaim space and improve energy efficiency; general availability is set for August 12, 2026.
- New LinuxONE additions include Rockhopper 5 and LinuxONE 5 Express; Rockhopper 5 offers on-chip AI acceleration, confidential computing, and post-quantum cryptography, while LinuxONE 5 Express is a 19-inch rack-mountable system for standard data center racks.
- IBM Z and LinuxONE GM Tom McPherson said the offerings are intended to help organizations run workloads where they make the most sense and broaden access to these technologies.
- The article also notes IBM previously launched its z17 mainframe generation in April 2015, saying it was engineered for AI capabilities and can process 50 percent more AI inference operations per day than the z16.
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Large data center campus planned in Pindamonhangaba, Brazil
RiverHook Village has announced the development of a hyperscale data centre campus in Pindamonhangaba, São Paulo, with staged capacity and multi-billion‑reais investment commitments.
- Main announcement: RiverHook Village 18 will be built on more than 500,000 m² (5.38m sq ft) along Via Estrutural, with an initial installed capacity of 150MW (expandable to up to 300MW) and investment starting at 5 billion reais (could reach 10 billion reais in later phases). The announcement was formalised on 28 April 2026 during the launch of the Investe Pinda platform.
- Background & implementation details: Partners include consulting firms Indo-Bras United and LetsGoFusion (owned by Fabio Gordon); negotiations with the city began in August 2025, the company was incorporated in November 2025, and the project timeline states construction start October 2026 and operational June 2028. The city’s Department of Economic Development (headed by Marcelo Martuscelli) cited energy availability and approved an additional 150MW dedicated to the campus; the design calls for waterless cooling to minimise regional water use.
Event details (announcement event):
- Date: 28 April 2026
- Time: not specified in article
- Location: Intercity Hotel, Pindamonhangaba
- Agenda / subject: launch of the Investe Pinda platform and formal announcement of RiverHook Village 18
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7x24 Spring Conference: Future-Proofing the AI Data Center Amid New Bottlenecks, New Risks, New Rules of Execution
The 7x24 Exchange Spring Conference highlighted that the data center industry must “future-proof” people, processes, and governance while introducing the development of a new quality framework, DCE 9000, through the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA).
- Main announcement/action: The conference sessions, led by speakers including Sol Rashidi, Google’s Govind Ramu and Gino Tozzi, and panelists from Victaulic, T5 Data Centers, DLB Associates, and Oracle, emphasized future-proofing operational and human systems for AI-scale data centers and noted that DCE 9000 is being developed through TIA as a common quality management framework for data center infrastructure equipment, suppliers, contractors, and operators.
- Background and details: Presentations flagged concrete operational risks: roughly 70% of organizational change initiatives fail (research cited by Google), urgent needs around liquid cooling commissioning, contamination control, supplier governance, documentation discipline, and workforce development, and recommended earlier involvement of chemical treatment/water-quality specialists and tighter integration across engineering, contractors, commissioning providers, equipment manufacturers, and IT teams.
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IBM Targets Enterprise AI Control Layer with ‘Operating Model’ Push
IBM announced an ‘AI operating model’ built around data, agents, automation, and hybrid infrastructure to move enterprises from isolated AI projects to coordinated systems embedded in core business processes.
- Main announcement: IBM introduced an AI operating model and positioned Watsonx Orchestrate as a control plane and Concert as the operational remediation layer; the company announced an integration of Watsonx.data with Confluent’s streaming technologies to enable real-time data pipelines and live context for agent-driven systems.
- Background and details:Arvind Krishna framed the shift citing over 70% of enterprise data remaining on-premises; analysts (Tekonyx, HyperFrame Research, Moor Insights & Strategy) warned enterprises are fragmented on data and lacking production governance, and IBM emphasized hybrid/on-premises deployment rather than building foundation models or competing on hyperscale infrastructure.