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Deep & Emerging Tech·November 3, 2026·1 min read

UK’s ARIA will test Lumai’s light-based AI servers in a data centre

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ARIA putting Lumai’s optical Iris servers into a commercial data center is an early test of whether photonic inference can deliver real energy and latency gains outside the lab. If you run large inference workloads, start tracking optical benchmarks now — a credible win here could change your 2028–2030 capex assumptions.

Deep & Emerging Tech

Industry experts warn that slow US power grid expansion could stifle its AI boom and give China an edge, as China builds power infrastructure faster

Compute roadmaps that ignore transmission constraints are now fiction—US grid buildout is running at roughly one-quarter the needed pace while China leans into power infrastructure as a strategic lever. If you're planning multi-hundred-MW AI campuses in the US, you need a parallel strategy for grid interconnect risk, on-site generation, and jurisdictional diversification.