January 19, 2026

Top news (last 24–48 hours)

• US air-permitting tightening for on-site generation: The U.S. EPA said gas turbine generators supplying Elon Musk’s xAI are not exempt from air permits, closing a local loophole that had allowed some temporary on-site generators to avoid permitting (US says Musk’s gas turbine generators for xAI require permits).

• India (Karnataka) pipeline of large investment proposals incl. data centres: Karnataka reported ₹1.53 lakh crore of industrial investment proposals over 11 months, including notable data centre and digital/tech projects such as NTT ₹4,000 crore (Devanahalli) and Google ₹2,500 crore (Bengaluru) (Karnataka attracts ₹1.53 lakh crore industrial investment proposals).

• US hyperscale buildout pulls transformer supply chain: CG Power won an export order of ~₹900 crore (~$99.2m) to supply power transformers for a large-scale hyperscale data centre in the US, with delivery over 12–20 months and FAS Mumbai Port terms (CG Power wins ₹900 crore US data centre transformer order).

Key deals & projects (by region)

United States

• Transformer procurement for hyperscale data centre:
  • CG Power order: ~₹900 crore (~$99.2m) from Tallgrass Integrated Logistics Solutions LLC (USA).
  • Scope: design, manufacture, test of power transformers in India; deliver over 12–20 months on FAS Mumbai Port terms.
  • End use: large-scale hyperscale data centre in the US (CG Power wins ₹900 crore US data centre transformer order).

India (Karnataka)

• Investment proposal tally (11 months post-GIM):₹1.53 lakh crore across manufacturing, renewables, data centres and GCCs.
• Notable announced proposals cited:
  • NTT data centres: ₹4,000 crore in Devanahalli.
  • Google: ₹2,500 crore in Bengaluru.
  • SAP: ₹1,960 crore in Devanahalli.
  • QpiAI: ₹1,136 crore in Bengaluru.
  • (Also listed: Toyota Industries Engine ₹1,330 crore in Jigani.)
  • Source summary: proposals span multiple sectors; data centres are explicitly included (Karnataka attracts ₹1.53 lakh crore industrial investment proposals).

Power, grid & interconnection highlights

• Equipment lead-times and grid-interface capex signal: The ₹900 crore transformer order tied to a US hyperscale project underscores how large data centre buildouts continue to pull on high-voltage transformer manufacturing capacity and export logistics, with 12–20 month delivery windows stated for this contract (CG Power wins ₹900 crore US data centre transformer order).

Policy & regulation

United States

• Air permits for on-site gas turbines:
  • The U.S. EPA ruled that gas turbine generators supplying power to xAIrequire permits and are not exempt.
  • The ruling closes a local loophole that previously allowed certain temporary on-site generators to avoid permitting (US says Musk’s gas turbine generators for xAI require permits).

Technology, efficiency & compute strategy

• Energy-efficiency positioning for AI infrastructure: Rodrigo Liang announced the formation of SambaCloud, emphasizing “Intelligence per Watt & Joule” as an energy-efficiency metric for AI infrastructure and tools (SambaCloud formed to support AI with energy-efficient compute).

• Potential step-change in AI training energy (research): Researchers at Zhejiang Lab and Fudan University reported an EaPU method for memristor-based in-memory computing that reduces AI training energy by nearly six orders of magnitude and cuts update frequency to <0.1%.

  • Validation: 180 nm memristor array for image denoising and super-resolution with SSIM 0.896 and 0.933.
  • Simulations: ResNet up to 152 layers and Vision Transformer models; reported 50× and 13× energy gains versus prior memristor methods and MADEM respectively (New memristor training cuts AI energy by million-fold).

Capital markets, ESG & clean energy signals (selected)

• ESG/energy and data-centre-adjacent market activity: A weekly ESG roundup flagged:
  • osapiens raised $100m at a $1bn valuation led by BlackRock and Temasek.
  • Diginex acquired Plan A for $64m.
  • L’Oreal launched a €100m fund backing 13 startups.
  • US courts allowed Equinor and Ørsted/GIP$5bn offshore wind projects to restart.
  • Microsoft, Google and Meta announced large carbon removal and clean energy deals for US data centers (high-level reference only; no project specifics provided) (ESG Weekly: $100M raises, carbon deals, and policy rulings).

2-line wrap

Permitting scrutiny on on-site generation and continued long-lead electrical equipment procurement are shaping near-term execution risk for AI and hyperscale capacity.

Meanwhile, large investment pipelines (notably in Karnataka) and efficiency-focused compute narratives keep reinforcing the buildout case across power and digital infrastructure.