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Amazon’s Toaster-Shaped Robotaxis Are Hitting the Road by Ellie Davis

William Attardi on August 24, 2026

The company is the first to charge for rides in its autonomous vehicle without a steering wheel, dashboard or pedals charging for rides across San Francisco and in Las Vegas. They can drive in either direction and hold up to four passengers who sit facing each other. Windows stretch across much of the sides. The vehicles are called Zoox and they come from a new entrant in robotaxis: Amazon.com AMZN. Amazon is betting it can become a major player in the growing robotaxi market, which Goldman Sachs expects to grow to nearly $19 billion in sales by 2030, from $376 million last year. It is a risky move. Alphabet’s Waymo, the early leader with roughly 4,000 vehicles operating in various cities, and Tesla provide stiff competition. Amazon bought Zoox in 2020 for $1.2 billion.  Amazon’s Toaster-Shaped Zoox Robotaxis Hitting the Road in San Francisco and Las Vegas – WSJ

Jeff Bezos Just Raised $12 Billion by Eric Bleeker

William Attardi on June 17, 2026

Jeff Bezos is back in an operating seat for the first time since stepping down from Amazon, pointing a $12 billion war chest at what he calls the engine of civilizational wealth: invention itself. The thesis is direct. Compress the loop from idea to manufactured product, and you mint the next Henry Ford or Elon Musk on a repeatable basis. Prometheus is a startup using AI to accelerate engineering and invention across the physical economy, with a roughly 150-person team based in San Francisco, London, and Zurich. The product description is ambitious: tools that function as “artificial general engineers,” treating design, simulation, and production as end-to-end machine learning problems. The marquee example Bezos used is jet engines. “What if instead of a team of 1000 people working for ten plus years to build a next generation of jet engine, what if they could do that in five years or two years or one year. Bezos summarized the underlying philosophy bluntly: “What drives civilizational wealth? And the answer is invention. Somebody invented the plow and we all got wealthier. Somebody invented the steam engine and we all got wealthier. Our goal at Prometheus is building a set of tools that accelerate that invention loop.” Jeff Bezos just raised $12 billion. He’s betting his newest business will create the next Elon Musk or Henry Ford

Amazon Announces Agreement with Corning to Boost U.S. Fiber Optics Manufacturing

William Attardi on June 11, 2026

Amazon announced a multibillion-dollar agreement with Corning Incorporated, a leading manufacturer of advanced glass and fiber optic technology, to supply the optical fiber, cable, and connectivity solutions that power Amazon’s expanding data center infrastructure across the United States. The investment will create 1,000 new, highly skilled jobs at Corning’s manufacturing facilities across North Carolina, and support hundreds of additional construction jobs to expand Corning’s facilities. Through the agreement, Amazon will work with Corning on a new program that will expand its Fiber Optic Technician Training Program with Catawba Valley Community College to train students for careers in fiber optic manufacturing and related technical roles. https://www.ledinside.com/news/2026/6/2026_06_10_03

Report: Global Data Center Capex Projection Passes $1 Trillion

William Attardi on June 11, 2026

According to a recently published report by Dell’Oro Group, the worldwide data center capex outlook for 2026 was raised as hyperscale AI deployments accelerated, complemented by continued investments in general-purpose infrastructure and rising component costs. Dell’Oro Group’s Data Center IT Capex Quarterly Report details the data center infrastructure capital expenditures of each of the ten largest Cloud service providers Additional highlights from the 1Q 2026 Data Center IT Capex Quarterly Report:

  • The global data center capex outlook was raised to more than $1 trillion for 2026.
  • The Top 4 US cloud providers—Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft—increased data center capex by 78 percent.
  • Dell led server OEM revenue in the quarter, followed by Supermicro and Lenovo, while white-box vendors serving the hyperscale market accounted for the majority of server revenue. Nearly all server vendors benefited from higher memory-driven system pricing.

Report: Global Data Center Capex Projection Passes $1 Trillion

Amazon Opens Third-Party Logistics to Any Company

William Attardi on May 4, 2026

Today, Amazon is announcing Amazon Supply Chain Services(ASCS), opening its full portfolio of freight, distribution, fulfillment, and parcel shipping capabilities to businesses of all types and sizes, not only Amazon sellers. With this launch, Amazon is expanding its third-party logistics capacity to support businesses in industries such as healthcare, automotive, manufacturing, and retail. Starting today, businesses can access a centralized console to discover, select, and sign up for the various ASCS solutions.  Business News Today – tEDmag

Amazon Plans to Invest $25 Billion in Mississippi Data Centers, Create 2,000 Jobs

William Attardi on April 17, 2026

Two years ago, Amazon broke ground on its first data center campus in Madison County—the largest capital investment in Mississippi’s history at the time. That milestone was followed by a $3 billion planned investment in Warren County. Today, we’re proud to share that our total statewide planned investment has reached $25 billion, with plans to create 2,000 high-skilled jobs across all our Mississippi data center operations, further solidifying the state’s position as a leader in technology and innovation. And the impact extends well beyond technology; our data centers are also creating lasting economic opportunity. In Madison County alone, more than 75 Mississippi companies are engaged in construction and operations, employing thousands of construction workers, electricians, and operational staff. Amazon plans to invest $25 billion in Mississippi data centers, create 2,000 jobs

AI Is Outpacing America’s Power Grid. Nuclear Must Become a National Priority by Mark Whitney

William Attardi on March 6, 2026

Nuclear energy is an immediate, national strategic imperative. Advanced nuclear technologies, including smaller, faster-to-build reactors, deliver reliable, scalable and zero-carbon power. Unlike wind or solar, nuclear operates 24/7, which is exactly what hyperscale AI data centers require. The early movers are acting:

The message is clear: secure dependable, carbon-free power now, or face capacity shortages and rising costs. AI is outpacing America’s power grid. Nuclear must become a national priority. | Utility Dive

Guess How Much Big Tech Will Spend on AI This Year

William Attardi on February 7, 2026

Four of the largest tech companies in the world project that they’ll spend roughly $650 billion combined on AI infrastructure in 2026, representing a historic ball-out for corporate capital expenditures, Bloomberg reported Here’s who’s spending what:

  • Taking the cake, Amazon announced Thursday that it’s planning to drop $200 billion on AI, chips, robotics, and satellites.
  • A day earlier, Alphabet said its capital expenditures could reach $185 billion, blowing past estimates.
  • Last week, Meta pegged its capex as high as $135 billion—an 87% jump from the year prior—driven by the company’s goal of achieving AI superintelligence.
  • Microsoft is expected to spend nearly $105 billion during its fiscal year ending in June.

Big Tech to spend $650 billion on AI in 2026, per Bloomberg

Amazon Testing New Warehouse Robots and AI Tools for Workers By Sean McLain

William Attardi on October 25, 2025

Artificial intelligence that makes humans more efficient and robots that make them less necessary. The retail giant unveiled a trio of new technologies Wednesday that it is testing or preparing to deploy in its warehouses and delivery vans. They include a robot arm called Blue Jay, designed to sort packages; an artificial-intelligence agent called Eluna, intended to help human managers deploy workers and avoid bottlenecks; and augmented-reality glasses to be worn by delivery drivers in the field. Analysts expect Amazon to see billions of dollars in cost savings every year as it automates more of the logistics process, both through increased efficiency and reduced need for humans. Amazon says its goal is to improve safety and unload mundane tasks onto AI and robots. Amazon Testing New Warehouse Robots and AI Tools for Workers – WSJ  m.wsj.net/video-atmo/20250627/f50aec12-b610-4104-805f-27966da3fb05/1/amazonrobotsbleed1_1000.mp4

The Radical Changes That Are Making Your Smart Home Less Dumb

William Attardi on October 10, 2025

Most homes are “smart”. Now that they’re getting a generative-AI overhaul, the question is: Can we get more out of devices that until now have been great at setting kitchen timers, reading the weather and playing music?  Amazon’s Alexa+ and Google’s Gemini aim to fix that, by making smart homes less dumb. The tech giants introduced new speakers, home displays and cameras this week to capitalize on their evolved assistants, but most existing devices are also compatible. Gemini for Home arrives at the end of the month, and Amazon says 10 million households already have early access to Alexa+. As we wait for Apple’s Siri to catch up—and we’re hoping for news sometime next year—here are the three big changes coming to our homes right now.

    1. Cameras that tell you what’s happening
    2. Speakers that have real conversations
    3. Automation without the app headache

Your Smart Home’s AI Upgrade: Alexa+, Ring ‘Search Party,’ Google’s Gemini for Home and More – WSJ

It’s Back to School – How Some of Our Most Acknowledged Universities Got Their Name – Who were the true visionaries who would donate half of their estate to sculpting the minds of the future. These stories are monuments to history and culture. Let’s take a stroll through academia’s memory lane and uncover the origins of these storied university names!

  1. Ah, Harvard! The Ivy League giant was once a small college in the Massachusetts Bay Colony settlement called New Towne. But where did “Harvard” come from? Enter John Harvard, a clergyman who, in 1638, decided to bequeath half his estate and his library (a whopping 400 books!) to the fledgling college. Grateful for this generous gift, they promptly named the institution after him.
  2. A gem of New Haven, Connecticut, Yale is another Ivy League powerhouse known for its prestigious law and drama schools. It owes its name to Elihu Yale, a wealthy merchant who, in 1718, donated a modest shipment of goods (including portraits, books, and textiles) to a struggling collegiate school. Those goods were auctioned off, raising a much-needed £562 –a small fortune at the time.
  3. Dartmouth is renowned for its beautiful rural setting, nestled in the picturesque town of Hanover, New Hampshire. It was named after the Earl of Dartmouth, William Legge, a British nobleman who supported the college’s founding –despite never actually setting foot in America!
  4. Brown, this Rhode Island Ivy University, known for its open curriculum and emphasis on student choice, was founded with a mouthful of a name – the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. It was renamed in 1704 for Nicholas Brown, Jr., a prominent merchant whose family donated generously to the school.
  5. Perched atop a hill overlooking Ithaca, New York, Cornell is celebrated for its diverse academic programs and its stunning natural surroundings. Founded by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, this university was unique for its commitment to practical education, allowing students the freedom to choose their own course of study. It was a revolutionary notion at the time, which would guide a curricular reform across the country.
  6. Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, Stanford is renowned for its entrepreneurial spirit and its close ties to the tech industry. But this California powerhouse has a touching origin story. Leland Stanford, Jr., the founder’s son, tragically died young from typhoid fever. His father Leland Sr., railroad magnate and former state governor, and his mother Jane, founded the university in his memory, ensuring his legacy lived on through the pursuit of knowledge.
  7. This North Carolina research giant, known for its strong medical and law schools, underwent a bit of a name change in its history. Originally called Trinity College, it was renamed Duke University in 1924 after James Buchanan Duke, a tobacco and electric power industrialist who founded the American Tobacco Company. He established The Duke Endowment, to which he donated throughout his life and left half his estate after his death.
  8. Nestled in Nashville, Tennessee, Vanderbilt is a renowned research university with a vibrant campus life. It owes its name to “The Commodore,” Cornelius Vanderbilt, a shipping and railroad magnate, who provided the initial gift to establish the university.
  9. Texas businessman William Marsh Rice provided the initial funding for this Houston university, but did not live to see its opening. He was murdered by his valet as he slept, in a plot to forge the man’s will. Despite the unfortunate circumstances, Rice University flourished through the years, becoming an institution known for its strong engineering and science programs.
  10. Who was Harvard named after? Origin of university names