alternative

AMD wants to be the great alternative to NVIDIA in AI chips, and Meta has a plan that involves both

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Meta has signed one of the largest contracts in history with AMD regarding chips for artificial intelligence. The agreement It represents a boost for AMD in its attempt to stand up to NVIDIA. It also shows how Lisa Su’s company intends to continue putting its foot even further into that little corner of circular financing that big technology companies have created in relation to AI. There are some nuances worth commenting on, so let’s get down to it. The agreement. Meta will purchase enough chips from AMD to power data centers with up to six gigawatts of computing power over the next five years. Just like esteem According to the Wall Street Journal, the total value of the contract would exceed $100 billion, since each gigawatt represents tens of billions in revenue for AMD, according to the company itself. First deliveries will begin in the second half of 2026, with a first gigawatt of AMD’s new MI450 chips. There is more. The agreement is not only about buying chips. As part of the pactAMD will offer Meta purchase guarantees (warrants) to acquire up to 160 million AMD shares at a symbolic price of one cent per share, which could make Meta the owner of up to 10% of the company. Of course, there are conditions, since the titles will be released in tranches as certain technical and commercial milestones are met. The last tranche will only be unlocked if AMD stock reaches $600, according to share the WSJ. On Monday it closed at $196.60, and after hearing the news, AMD shares have risen more than 10% in pre-opening. AMD seeks its place alongside NVIDIA. The company led by Lisa Su has been trying to gain ground in a market that NVIDIA dominates with more than 90% share. This agreement with Meta, together the one who signed with OpenAI in October in very similar terms, is its most ambitious bet to achieve it. “Meta has a lot of options. I want to make sure we always have a clear place at the table when they think about what they need,” counted His at the press conference prior to the announcement. Meta doesn’t put all her eggs in one basket. Zuckerberg’s company is not betting exclusively on AMD. Last week too closed an agreement with NVIDIA to acquire millions of its chips for tens of billions of dollars, and also is in talks with Google for the use of its AI processors. “At the scale at which we operate, there is room for all three,” counted Santosh Janardhan, head of infrastructure at Meta. The company’s strategy involves diversifying suppliers and ensuring sufficient supply for its major expansion. Meta spent 72 billion dollars last year in data centers and plans to disburse up to 135,000 million this year. And back to circular financing. Meta pays AMD for chips, and AMD returns some of that money in the form of shares. A similar scheme that we already saw in the agreement with AMD and OpenAI, but also identical to that of the rest of the big technology companies around AI. The problem of demand is also worth noting. And Reuters stood out the words of Matt Britzman, an analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, who said that although Meta is securing supply and diversifying, “having to give up 10% of its capital suggests that AMD could have difficulty generating organic demand.” What’s coming now. The AI ​​race is not only fought in laboratories, but also in the field of finance. For AMD, the challenge now is to demonstrate that its chips live up to the demands. For Meta, the goal is to build with them “tens of gigawatts this decade and hundreds of gigawatts or more over time,” in words from Zuckerberg himself. All this while we are witnessing unprecedented spending on infrastructure and energy and of which we apparently do not see the bottom line. Cover image | AMD and Meta In Xataka | IBM has been living for decades that no one could kill COBOL. Anthropic has other plans

Science had been looking for an alternative to laboratory mice for years without success. Until he found the moths

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In the world of science, the mouse has been for decades the undisputed king of the laboratory. However, it is an expensive, slow and, above all, ethically complex reign. That is why we have been looking for alternatives for years, and the answer may not be in a silicon chipbut an insect that you have probably seen eating the wax of a beehive. The advance. This is what researchers at the University of Exeter have arrived at, who have achieved a milestone that promises to change the rules of the game in the fight against superbacteria: They have genetically “hacked” dinner moth larvae to function as real-time biological indicators. The most impressive thing is that they even have a very visual indicator: they shine when you get sick and go off when the medicine is working correctly. The biological traffic light. The study, published this week in Naturedetails how the research team has achieved what seemed impossible: applying tools of genetic editing advanced these moths with unprecedented precision. And I know this is very important, since using insects to model human diseases had limitations, but this team has combined two key techniques. The techniques. The first of them is the system PiggyBac to be able to insert genes that produce fluorescent proteins into these moths, so they have basically gone from having larvae to biological “neon lights.” In this way, if bacteria or fungi are injected, fluorescence makes it possible to monitor the infection in vivo under the microscope. In addition, the famous technique was also included CRISPR-Cas9 to deactivate specific genes in the insect’s body. This is a tremendously positive thing, as it allows scientists to manipulate the larva’s immune system to see how it reacts to different pathogens, mimicking complex human conditions. The key data. The bottom line is that the modified larvae allow us to see if an antibiotic is working in real time. The indicator we have is fluorescence, which if it decreases indicates that the bacteria is dying from the antibiotic and the larva is surviving. All this in a visual, fast and cheap way. Why the moth. It may sound strange to compare a moth with a mammal such as the mouse, which may be more like us, but the Galleria mellonella He has an ace up his sleeve: your body temperature. Unlike the fruit fly, these larvae can breed and survive comfortably at 37°C, the average human body temperature, which is crucial because many human pathogens only activate their virulence genes at that temperature. Furthermore, their innate immune system is surprisingly similar to that of mammals in terms of structure and function of phagocytes, the cells that literally ‘eat’ pathogens that enter the body. Furthermore, with this animal model the use of 10,000 mice per year in the United Kingdom alone can be avoided. Against the clock of the resistance. The context of this advance is not trivial, since we are facing a race against the resistance of bacteria to our antibiotics. We need at this moment test thousands of new compounds fastand doing it in mice is a brutal bottleneck both because of the time it takes and the ethical questions that arise. On the other hand, these transgenic larvae allow for massive screening. Instead of waiting weeks to see results in mice, scientists here can test hundreds of compounds in larvae and get immediate visual readings on toxicity and efficacy. Images | Wikipedia Kalyan Sak In Xataka | Researchers removed Instagram and TikTok from 300 young people to see if their anxiety decreased. The results speak for themselves

what is this European alternative to X and Threads, what it is not, and all the information

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We are going to tell you what exactly W Social is, the European social network project that aims to compete with X and Threads. It is not a social network that is going to start from scratch, but rather it will join an open protocol of another existing network, but from European servers. At the moment, W is just a project announced at the Davos forum, but it is not yet open to the public. Of course, we already have a few important data about it that allow us to know what it will be like. Even so, we will update this article as we know more and as the opening date arrives. What is W Social W Social is a project to create a European social network of micromessages. So that you understand, it is like seeking to create an alternative to the old Twitter, and to current networks such as Threads or X, both American. W Social is not a closed and completely independent social network, but rather it is like a European instance of Bluesky. Therefore, will be based on Bluesky and in the AT Protocol. If you are in, remember that you can follow us on this social network in the account xataka.bsky.social. Think of this as two networks that speak the same language and they are interconnected with each othersomething similar to the instances of Mastodonbut with another technology. You will be able to access Bluesky accounts and read posts and all content, and users of this network will also be able to follow you. Bluesky has more than 42 million users, although there is no figure for how many of them are active. In any case, this will mean that W Social will join forces with this alternative network, so it will not start from scratch and its users will not have to deal with an empty timeline. One of the things that W Social has confirmed to us is that we will be able to completely migrate our existing Bluesky account. Its objective is for us to be able to migrate all our content, comments, interactions, followers and followers, and all other information. But they have not yet clarified the steps, although they assure that they will explain the step by step when this function is available. Finally, say that W Social wants as its fundamental objectives to be a network based on verified humans, transparency, privacy and freedom of expression. All this, they say, believing that we need a global and reliable social network, and one that is managed, hosted and owned in Europe, with all the benefits that this entails for privacy due to the strictest European regulations in this regard. What W Social is NOT W Social It is not a social network created by the European Unionbut by a European company. Yes, a company like Meta or X, but based in the EU and with our rules. This also means that It is not a decentralized or open network like those that are part of the Mastodon ecosystem. It will be a network belonging to a company, which will be the one that makes the decisions. Come on, just like Instagram, Facebook, Threads or X. Main features One of the main characteristics of Bluesky is that it is a social network where You can decide or create the algorithms. By default you only see the content of the people you follow, but you can add your own custom algorithms, whether themed, by language, whatever you want. Although it is still too early to know if W Social will inherit this unique and beneficial function. But the characteristic that will make W Social different is that Your users must have a verified identity. You will have to send your ID and your account will be linked to your identity. This measure has something positive as a clear way to end trolls and online abuse and threatssince the user can be identified to expel him or his actions have criminal consequences just as in life outside the Internet. This will promote a less toxic environment and no bots or fake profiles. All accounts will be real, although this does not mean that you will show your first and last name, because you will be able to choose a username that you want. But this also has a dangerous sidesince there is a danger that this verification turns into surveillance of users, something that would endanger activists and other types of legitimate resistance. We will have to wait to see how they achieve this balance. The other fundamental pillar of W Social will be moderation. Just as X is a free space, but quite wild and where abuses and misinformation run without any type of effective moderation, W Social will be a more controlled network with clear rulessuch as not being able to insult, avoid coordinated campaigns or the creation of permanent noise. Moderation is always a delicate topic, although the platform promises neutrality. We will have to wait to see how they carry out these tasks, how much is done by algorithm and how much is done by people. Moderation is important for creating a healthy digital environment, but it can also be dangerous. How to register on W Social W Social has not yet opened its doors, although You can now sign up for a waiting list. In it, you will have to add your email, and optionally you can add the username you want to use, your country of residence and your Bluesky or LinkedIn profiles. It is expected that W Social beta phase starts in March 2026which will be when the first users start receiving invitations.

traffic jams, collapsed buses and 400,000 people without a planned alternative

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Closed with a message at midnight and no backup plan. This is what the 400,000 people who take one of the Rodalies trains in Catalonia every day have found. The railway system has come to a complete halt after the an accident in Gelida (Barcelona) in which a trainee driver died and a second train derailed, this one without consequences, between the stations of Blanes and Maçanet (Girona). What has happened? Last night, Rodalies Catalunya reported that a train on Rodalies line R4 in Barcelona had suffered an accident. In it, everything indicates, a retaining wall fell on the train as it passed. On impact A 28-year-old trainee train driver has died and 37 injuries have been recorded, of which five are in serious condition. Furthermore, between the stations of Blanes and Maçanet (Girona), a few hours earlier another train had derailed. This time as a result of a landslide that left some rocks on the road. In this case there have been no victims on a train in which only 10 people were traveling. Click on the image to go to the original tweet Rodalies closes. A few minutes before midnight, Adif confirmed that all Rodalies lines in Catalonia were suspended until the status of all the lines was checked, but assured that, when it was verified that there were no obstacles on the tracks, the service would be restored. This morning, the trains have not left the depots. Rodalies confirmed that the train service will remain suspended until Adif checks the status of all the tracks. Rodalies points to the damage caused by Storm Harry, which has left heavy rains in Catalonia and has even been warned of flooding. The stoppage also comes after SEMAF (Spanish Union of Railway Machinists) will release a statement announcing that they are going to call a general strike in the sector and that they would stop the service if security was guaranteed throughout the Catalan network. Click on the image to go to the original tweet 400,000 people. Every day, around 400,000 people move around Catalonia using the Rodalies service. Today, Wednesday, January 21, they learned that there are no trains to get to work or drop the children off at school. But, above all, there is no alternative plan to replace the trains, so passengers have to find their own means to get around. Rodalies has 134 stations and its 462.7 kilometers of tracks cover the most extensive Cercanías service in Spain. In total, it is made up of 13 Cercanías lines and 6 regional train lines. The Barcelona Cercanías service, with six lines and two branches (R2 Nord and R2 Sud), is the most extensive. a challenge. The suspension of the service without alternative measures anticipated a chaotic day in Catalonia and, especially, in Barcelona. And the forecasts have been fulfilled. In The Country They note that many passengers were not aware of the measure when they arrived at the stations and that they were not offered any alternative there. In The Vanguard They collect complaints from passengers who are not being told when service can return. Some of them, they point out in the newspaper, have waited for an hour at the stations for trains that have never arrived. It was not until 7:00 when the stations closed definitively. From early in the morning, bus services are saturated in Barcelona. In 20 Minutes They collect the voice of a driver from Barcelona, ​​who assures that “it is chaos. Normally we are always full, but today even more so.” Given the difficulties students face in arriving, the University of Barcelona has canceled all exams. The rest of the universities in Catalonia maintain normal activity although they have asked students who cannot travel to an exam to contact their teacher as soon as possible. For now, the only alternative proposed by the Generalitat It is the recommendation to prioritize teleworking wherever it is allowed or possible. The roads. On the roads, Trànsit has chosen to raise the toll barriers on the C-32 south in both directions of travel. To the suspension of Rodalies we must add the impact on traffic on fifteen roads (ten of them are cut off by floods or landslides) as a result of the storm that is hitting the autonomous community. In The Newspaper They report that all accesses to Barcelona are jammed or have been jammed early in the morning. In addition, various accidents have made traffic even more complicated. Photo | Transit In Xataka | The liberalization of the AVE has not gone down well with Renfe, so now it has a plan: delay the Cercanías movement as much as possible.

Renfe already has an alternative plan

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The tragic railway accident that occurred on Sunday, January 19 in Adamuz (Córdoba), which left at least 40 dead and 41 hospitalized, has completely cut off the high-speed line between Madrid and Andalusia. According to the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, the connection will not be fully operational again until February 2 or 3which represents an interruption of approximately two weeks in one of the most important railway corridors in the country. Emergency solution. Renfe has activated since this Tuesday, January 20 an Alternative Transportation Plan which combines train and bus journeys. The operator has made it clear that this device “is designed to guarantee the mobility of travelers who must travel for strictly necessary reasons,” according to its official statement. The critical point of the plan is the section between Córdoba and Villanueva de Córdoba, which will be done by road, which will increase the total travel time. The services available. The plan contemplates seven daily frequencies from Madrid to Andalusia: four to Seville (departures at 7:00, 11:00, 15:00 and 19:00) and three to Malaga (at 9:00, 13:00 and 17:00). In the opposite direction, there will be four departures from Seville and three from Malaga distributed throughout the day. The trains will make intermediate stops in Ciudad Real and Puertollano when traveling between Madrid and Villanueva de Córdoba, while services to Málaga will stop in Antequera. Conventional route. In addition to the combined train-bus services, Renfe has enabled three special services by conventional route from Madrid Chamartín: one towards Seville (7:00 a.m.), another towards Cádiz (3:00 p.m.) and a third to Granada and Almería (4:25 p.m.). These trains, some in double composition to increase capacity, use the conventional network instead of high speed. The company has also reinforced the Madrid-Extremadura-Seville Media Distancia line with 736 additional seats. Price. The complete Madrid-Seville or Madrid-Málaga ticket for the alternative plan has a fixed price of 40 euros in tourist class. Renfe also shares that affected passengers may request a full refund of their original ticket and purchase a new one for this alternative service, or request a ticket change with a refund of the difference. Impact. On Monday, January 20 alone, more than 200 trains were affected by the suspension, according to they count from the EFE agency, including AVE, Alvia, Avlo, Ouigo and Iryo. Thousands of travelers have faced cancellations and have denounced on social media the lack of immediate alternatives and the high prices of available flights. Although airlines such as Iberia and Air Europa they have added frequencies and with some prices capped at 150 euros, many users have preferred to take the bus or use car-sharing platforms such as Blablacar, which registered a 25% increase in trips published in Andalusia. We still don’t know anything. The investigation of the accident focuses on a break detected in the road, although Minister Puente has insisted in which it is still unknown whether it is the cause or a consequence of the derailment. “There is a first breaking point in the track from which it is considered that the derailment has occurred, but it is one more indication, we must determine if it is the cause or the consequence,” he explained on Cadena Ser. Work in the area continues to clear the track and first restore one of the two affected lines before recovering full service. In Xataka | Those affected by the railway cut in the Adamuz accident can breathe a sigh of relief: up to four days of leave

While half the world looks for an alternative to Taiwan, Jensen Huang is very clear about the harsh reality: there is no

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In the technological world, the United States AIthe China’s semiconductor breakthroughs and the robotics explosion They were protagonists during the last months. But if there is something essential for these industries to function, it is Taiwan. In semiconductors, Taiwan is the one who splits the cod, and its technological diamond is TSMC. And the CEO of NVIDIA is clear that it is not worth burning money looking for the new TSMC immediately. Because it’s something that will take decades to replicate. Resilience. TSMC is about to turn 40 years old and is the company that manufactures for the elephants of the semiconductor sector such as AMD, Apple, ARM, MediaTek, Qualcomm or NVIDIA itself, among many others. They are the ones that have the most advanced machines of the European ASMLthose that have refined their processes to the extreme and are used even by manufacturers that have their own factories, such as Intel or Texas Instruments. It is something that affects the user directly, proof of this is that a mobile chip manufactured by TSMC is not the same as almost the same one made by Samsung. And to these processes is added a brutal manufacturing capacity that has dominated the industry. And, of course, looking to bite into that pie, different countries have tried to find their own TSMC. However, Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, has commented that efforts to diversify production must be made from the angle of resilience, not replacement. You don’t have to burn money like crazy. In recent months, Europe and the United States have begun to add manufacturing capacity in the semiconductor segment. The problem is that you cannot build a competitive industry in a short time: experience is needed and failure is not allowed. That, in an industry that is evolving at a very rapid pace due to the needs for chips for feed the artificial intelligenceis not contemplated. That is why Huang believes that the market is becoming selective and if guarantees are needed to manufacture chips, the one who gives those guarantees is turned to. Huang has been giving interviews for a few days and touching on key topics. For example, pointing out that The breakup between the US and China makes no sense because China is a very powerful trading partner, but also ensuring that Taiwan, as much as certain countries may not like it, will be the axis in the development of advanced computing in the coming years. China and the US investing millions. SIA is the acronym for Semiconductor Industry Association. It is the organization that seeks to advance policies that help the growth of the manufacturing industry in the United States. In your report Last year, they targeted 100 projects in 28 states totaling more than half a trillion dollars of private investment to triple the capacity of American industry by 2032. amd wants to be one of the protagonists of this operationbut also an Intel that seeks to position itself as a key factory on American soil and that has received strong government support. China is not far behind. With the explosion of robotics and AI, companies like SMIC or Huawei are developing alternatives to American technology to fuel their computing needs. They are looking for something else: industrial autonomy, and for that the Government has been releasing a series of funds to become one of the biggest names in the sector. If a subsidy package was launched in 2024 $47.5 billiona few weeks ago, other of up to 70,000 million to support that industry. Rvalidates directly with the US CHIPS of 52,000 million and 43,000 European million. The objective in both cases is the same: allocate obscene amounts of money to areas such as design, equipment, manufacturing and materials, as well as energy solutions that allow chips to be manufactured, but also to feed the companies in each country’s ecosystem. In the case of China, furthermore, there is an urgency to achieve these objectives as it is not able to have the advanced ASML machines and NVIDIA chips, something that the United States, Europe and Taiwan do have. India more of the same. But this is not a question of two great poles. South Korea also seeks become one of the great players of semiconductors, and another country that is designing an ambitious strategy to attract investment in semiconductors is India. Over the last few months they have been approving a series of aid packages (the last in January of this year, of 4.6 billion dollars) to boost the manufacturing of electronic components in the country. Apart from investing in their first state-of-the-art semiconductor factory (an investment of 11 billion dollars is estimated to achieve this), they are launching other aid and tax advantages to attract companies such as Samsung, Foxconn (also Taiwanese) or Apple to their territory. The goal is not to be a country that assembles the final product, but rather to manufacture critical components and move up the industrial value chain. Taiwanese expansion. The “problem” for these countries, and a great advantage for TSMC, is that they all seem to be very far away. India wants to achieve a chip made in 28 nanometer lithography, which is something that TSMC surpassed generations ago. AND China is fighting over 7 and 5 nm. Meanwhile, TSMC has refined its 3nm process and, as we say, TSMC’s great asset is not only that they have the experience and technology, but the ability to manufacture the best chips for customers who need those terribly refined chips. But there’s more: if China, Europe, the United States and India are moving, TSMC itself is diversifying. Yes Europe aspires to manufacture 20% of the planet’s semiconductorsit will be thanks to the TSMC plant planned in Germany. And although the US hates that it is a foreign company the one who has the upper hand in this great technological – and monetary – adventure of AI, TSMC has already settled on US soil. In the end, each territory seeks its … Read more

We had been looking for an alternative to cement for decades. We just found it in seashells

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The search for construction elements that move away from classic materials such as steel, concrete or cement makes sense from different fronts ranging from economics to sustainability through technical limitations. Without going any further, we can already see skyscrapers made of wood and some even compete to be the tallest in the world. Yes, wood is proposed as a serious alternative, but you can also give a twist to cement as we know it with a new old acquaintance: the shells on the beach. From waste to concrete ingredient. Seashells that are normally treated as waste can become a kind of substitute for the cement used for concrete, as a published study by the University of East London has concluded. in Construction Materials magazine. In fact, they can act both as a filling material and as a partial substitute for cement. Thus, microstructural analysis revealed that the shells, which are rich in calcium, help refine the porous structure of the concrete and promote the formation of additional binding compounds, that is, it even provides additional benefits in terms of performance. under the microscope. Scallop shells are composed by a range of 95 to 99% calcium carbonate (like limestone, the raw material for cement) presented in two crystalline forms, calcite and aragonite. The other 1-5% is the organic fraction, which serves as cement to bind the calcium crystals. The shells are a sort of biogenic limestone, chemically compatible with cement, which is still a hydraulic binder of limestone and clay. Up to 36% less cement. The process is also quite “simple”: grinding scallop shells to turn them into a fine powder suitable to replace part of the cement mixture. How much? Up to 36% without substantially altering the characteristics of the concrete. Why is it important. The partial replacement of cement with a natural waste material such as shells is an unexpected and novel solution to reduce the environmental impact of cement, currently responsible for approximately 7% of global carbon emissions. This percentage is so high not only because of the fuel required to heat the furnaces, but also because of the chemistry of the process itself. In fact, already has been experimented with ecological mortar. The person responsible for the study, the associate professor of Structural Engineering at the UEL and doctor Ali Abass contributes more context: “Concrete is everywhere and, consequently, its carbon footprint is enormous.” Regarding its applicability beyond the study, Abass is optimistic: “At moderate levels of substitution, concrete performs very well, meaning this solution could be scaled in real-world environments.” In addition, two problems are solved at once: “Millions of tonnes of shell waste are generated around the world every year, and most of it has no useful destination. If we can divert even a fraction into low-emission building materials, the environmental benefits could be significant. It’s a simple idea with real potential to transform part of the sector.” A giant step towards more sustainable construction. In short, the use of shells would allow us to cut significant amounts of CO₂ from one of the most polluting materials in the world and move towards more sustainable construction. In the absence of future industrial trials to support large-scale reliability, its adoption potential is notable, especially at a time of increasing calls for stricter environmental standards and scrutiny over carbon footprint calculations. In Xataka | Bloc is a brick that promises to lower the temperature around it by almost 10 degrees: its technology is that of the botijo In Xataka | In our battle against plastic, we have centrifuged bacteria. And its cellulose is postulated as the ideal substitute Cover | Rodolfo Quiros and Pok Rie

China sold cheap batteries for years. The problem is that in the meantime no one built an alternative

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For more than a decade, the world became accustomed to an idea that seemed unquestionable: batteries—the heart of electric cars, of renewable energies, of data centers and of modern warfare— would be increasingly cheaper. China mass-produced them, dominated the technology, controlled critical materials and accepted minimal margins, even losses. For the West, the model was comfortable: import, reduce costs and accelerate the energy transition. That normality, however, has begun to crack. A turning point in the Chinese market. In recent months, several lithium battery manufacturers have begun to announce price increases after almost three years of fierce competition and below-cost sales. According to South China Morning Postthe most visible case is that of Deegares, which reported an increase of 15%, opening a debate on whether the sector is beginning to emerge from the “involution” cycle, a dynamic in which producing more, selling cheaper and earning less had become the norm. The immediate trigger has been the rise in the price of lithium, which has risen around a 70% from its annual minimum. This rebound responds to several overlapping factors: the rise of data centers for artificial intelligence, a rebound in demand for electric vehicles in China and an increasingly explicit intervention by the State to organize the sector. The Chinese Ministry of Industry itself has gathered to the main market players and has promised to accelerate measures to stop the so-called “irrational competition”. A stressed model. Sales prices for energy storage systems in China have plummeted by up to 80% in just three years. Some companies operate with gross margins of 15% to 20% in the domestic market, a far cry from the 40% or 50% common in the United States. The real profitability, analysts cited by SCMP admitwas in exports. And exporting, China has continued to dominate. This year it has managed to sell lithium batteries worth more than $69 billion. According to the analysis of energy expert Gavin Maguire in Reutersthis milestone is explained by the voracious hunger of Germany and the United States for large-scale storage systems, essential to stabilize electrical networks saturated by renewables and data centers. In practice, every new AI data center in Europe or North America starts with a silent dependency: thousands of batteries designed, manufactured and assembled in China. The low price hid an uncomfortable reality. All this time there was a truth that no one said out loud, perhaps because it was so obvious: there was no real Chinese alternative. This new year 2026 will be marked by the massive expansion of data centers that power artificial intelligence, facilities that consume amounts of electricity comparable to that of a small city and that need large-scale batteries to guarantee a continuous supply. Google has installed more than 100 million lithium-ion cells in its data centers, while Microsoft plans to eliminate diesel generators before 2030, replacing them with batteries to meet their climate goals. The forecasts confirm that the risk is not theoretical. The International Energy Agency sums it up crudely. If in 2024 China manufactured 99% of the world’s LFP cells and refined most of the critical materials such as lithium and graphite. For its executive director, Fatih Birol, depend on a single country For a strategic technology, it is a risk comparable to that posed to Europe by its dependence on Russian gas. The Chinese adjustment. Far from retreating, Beijing now seeks to organize the sector without losing its dominance. State intervention translates to braking the most extreme overcapacity, review mining licenses, limit sales at a loss and allow prices to rise to sustainable levels. The objective is not to make batteries abruptly more expensive, but to prevent a strategic industry from self-destructing by competing with itself. Control of raw materials remains the central lever. China process around of 80% of the world’s lithium and produces nearly 90% of the anodes and electrolytes used in batteries. When the United States or Europe impose tariffs, China responds by restricting exports of critical metals. The message is unmistakable: the power lies not only in making batteries, but in controlling every link in the chain. The Western Response. In parallel, the United States and Europe are trying to react. According to Sprott’s reportWestern governments have begun to treat lithium and batteries as strategic assets. Washington has invested directly in mining projectshas multiplied the number of planned gigafactories and has included restrictions on the purchase of Chinese batteries in defense legislation. Europe is following a similar, albeit slower path, supporting local extraction and refining projects and seeking to reduce its dependence on China. Big oil companies like Exxon either Chevron have entered the lithium business, and countries like Germany finance domestic production to ensure supply and reduce geopolitical risks. Still, the consensus among analysts it is clear: replicating the Chinese model will take years. Environmental regulations, labor costs and the absence of centralized industrial planning make competing on price impossible for now. Decoupling, if it comes, will be slow, expensive and politically uncomfortable. A planned domain. It is the direct result of the plan Made in China 2025with which Beijing decided to stop being the world’s cheap factory to become a technological leader. China already dominates solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles and lithium batteries. In addition, it controls strategic minerals such as graphite and has vertically integrated the entire value chain. In fact, the Asian giant It is the first “electrostate” in the world: a power whose power is no longer based on oil, but on renewable gigawatts, electrons and batteries. This strategy has reduced its emissions, weakened petrostates and turned its energy industry into a tool of global influence. The true cost of batteries. For years, this low price allowed us to accelerate the global energy transition, but it also created a deep and silent dependency. Now that China begins to organize its market, raise prices and prioritize its own industrial strategy, the world begins to discover the real cost of having delegated the heart of its energy system. Batteries are no … Read more

What is coliving and why has it become the residential alternative of the moment

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Arriving in a new city with a suitcase is not always the beginning of an idyllic adventure; It is often the result of desperate mathematical calculation. With rental prices climbing 51.4% in the last decade while salaries barely moved 3.4%, according to the joint report by Fotocasa and InfoJobsfreedom of choice has been replaced by scarcity management. In this scenario, the coliving It is not born from a romantic desire to share a kitchen, but from a structural necessity. It is the housing response to a world where the traditional market has built walls of unpayable deposits and rigid contracts that no longer fit with anyone’s life. Opening the door to a coliving is, for many, the only way to stop being “expelled” from the system and become a resident with rights and services, even if it is at the cost of reducing one’s own square meters. What is coliving and how does it work? He coliving It’s not just sharing a flat; It is a professionalized evolution of coexistence. According to the specialized media Minutthis model is a hybrid that combines the privacy of a room with integrated services. The operational performance, as detailed by ULI experts (Urban Land Institute) and the report The European Coliving Best Practice Guide, It is based on a comprehensive management model. In other words, the resident pays a single bill that covers rent, furniture, high-speed Wi-Fi, cleaning and supplies. This ecosystem removes the “mental load” of home management. As the MIT thesis points outcoliving was born to provide resilience to an exhausted real estate market, offering “ready to move in” spaces that allow the tenant to focus on their career or personal projects from minute one. Types of coliving The versatility of the model has allowed different formats to be created according to the user’s needs: Urban and Flex Living Models: It is the commitment to density. According to Savillsthese formats will represent 16% of the new rental offer in Spain. They are large buildings with hundreds of units that revitalize the city center. Thematic Colivings: The MIT report highlights spaces where the community is filtered by interests: from “hubs” for artists selected for their work to communities of programmers. Rural Coliving: Maybe the guy more transformer. Cases can be highlighted such as Send either Anceu in Galicia, where coliving is used as a tool against depopulation, allowing digital nomads from Google or Spotify to live in villages of 20 people, injecting talent and consumption into rural areas. Collaborative housing (Senior Living): To combat the epidemic of loneliness in the elderly. The Law 3/2023 of the Valencian Community It is a pioneer in Spain by regulating these homes where mutual support is the central axis. What advantages does coliving have? The immediate advantage is affordability. From the Coliving.com portal estimates that a resident You can save up to 40% compared to a traditional studio. However, there are invisible benefits. A report from Lund University emphasizes that coliving is a sustainable urban housing strategy, reducing energy and water consumption by sharing resources and appliances. Furthermore, the psychological impact is measurable. While urban isolation grows, 71% of “colivers” affirm feel more connected. Given the return-to-office policies in cities with impossible prices, living in a coliving near the workplace is the only alternative to avoid two-hour daily commutes. How much does it cost to live in a coliving: prices In cities like New York or London, the savings are drastic, but in Spain the model is also consolidated. According to CBREinvestment in the sector Living room It reached 3,730 million euros in 2024, which allows us to offer high-quality accommodation at prices that, although they seem high at first glance, are competitive by eliminating investment in furniture, maintenance and supply charges. It is, in essence, the transformation of the rental into a transparent monthly subscription. In the main urban nodes of Spain, these are the current ranges: Madrid and Barcelona: Between €750 and €1,300 per month. The price varies depending on whether the room has a private bathroom or if the complex includes luxury services such as a gym, pool or rooftop. Málaga, Valencia and Alicante: Between €500 and €900 per month. These cities are attracting digital nomads with an offer that prioritizes community and proximity to the sea. Difference between coliving and shared apartment There is no need to confuse them. In a shared apartment, coexistence is random and management is informal. In coliving, there is professional management 24/7. As Minut highlightsthe use of technology (noise and smoke sensors that respect privacy) guarantees that coexistence is not degraded. Furthermore, the contracts are individual; If a partner does not pay, it does not affect the rest, something that the Urban Lease Law (LAU) does not always guarantee in traditional group contracts. How to find a coliving Finding these communities is now as easy as booking a hotel thanks to platforms like Coliving.com. However, unlike a hotel, the community factor is vital here. Many managers as mentioned in MIT studiesthey conduct prior interviews to ensure that the resident’s profile fits with the vibe of the building, seeking a harmony that benefits all members. The coliving business for investors For the investor, coliving is a safe haven asset. CBRE points out that Madrid and Barcelona concentrate the greatest interest due to their high profitability per square meter. However, the Uría Menéndez office warns about “limbo” legal: since there is no clear national law, coliving navigates between the Civil Code and municipal regulations that seek to organize the market. In this context, Madrid has taken a step forward with the RESIDE Plana new roadmap designed to combat “tourism” and the escalation of prices caused by vacation rentals. This regulation is key for the sector because it draws a red line: it separates buildings for residential use from tourist ones. However, the City Council will allow private public buildings that are obsolete or in disuse. they transform in colivings or affordable rental housing, as long as their restoration is … Read more

Huawei is building its own alternative ecosystem to CUDA. If it succeeds, NVIDIA will have a serious problem

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When talking about NVIDIA, almost all the focus is on the hardware: the H100Blackwell, racksenergy consumption, nanometers… It is understandable, but it is a mistake. The defensive moat – the moat– NVIDIA is not the hardware. Is CUDA. CUDA is not an add-on to the chip, it is the de facto standard upon which most of the AI ​​code on the planet is written, optimized and debugged. Changing GPUs without changing CUDA does not exist. And switching from CUDA means rewriting years of work. That is why it is a moat. Why is it important. Huawei’s big bet is not to “make a Chinese H100.” It is to build a path for the developer to reach Ascend without feeling like you are changing planets. The restrictions are accelerating it. Exports have split the world in two: An ecosystem that revolves around NVIDIA. And another that China is trying to lift against the clock. In that second, Huawei is not just playing chips: is playing “ecosystem”in AI and outside of it. And therein lies the nuance: you can be years behind in chips and still reduce dependency if you get the software to swallow. In detail. Huawei is attacking the problem on three fronts, with a pragmatically Chinese logic: not to replace everything at once, but to open shortcuts. Native stack (CANN + MindSpore). It is your “pure” alternative: your own environment and your own tools to get the most out of Ascend. The cost today is high, there are complaints of instability, the documentation is rather messy, and the community is much smaller. PyTorch support. This is the most strategic move. Huawei does not try to make the world love its framework– Try to ensure that the world doesn’t have to leave PyTorch. torch_npu acts as an adapter to run PyTorch models on Ascend, but with one problem: it is not native and suffers with every PyTorch change. If PyTorch advances and your backend lags behind, the developer notices. Portability via ONNX. Here Huawei looks for its best window: inference and deployment, not training. ONNX works as a bridge format: you train where you can (often NVIDIA) and deploy to Ascend. It’s a less romantic and more useful approach: if shortages hit, moving inference to local hardware is an immediate relief. Between the lines. The real story is that Huawei is trying to replicate the “trick” that made NVIDIA great: turning its hardware into an experience. That’s why the tactic that explains everything appears: putting engineers in the client’s home to migrate code and optimize it. It is not scalable as a business model, but it is scalable as a transition model: you buy time while you mature tools, libraries and support. And there is another derivative: if China gets enough teams to adopt Ascend out of necessity, over time that can become habit and then infrastructure. Not because it is better, but because it is already integrated. Yes, but. Huawei has two limits that cannot be fixed with marketing: Hardware improvement rate: Roadmap analysis suggests relative stagnation and a gap that could widen, not close, if NVIDIA continues to accelerate cycles. Off-chip bottlenecks: memory (HBM), tools and industrial capacity. You can add “worse” chips, but you need to make a lot of them and build a lot of systems. And now what. If this movie continues, we will see two clear signs: Less hype of chips and more real migration stories: how many computers have moved to Ascendwith what frictions, with what performance losses. Less obsession with training in Ascend and more normalization of the hybrid pattern: I train where I can, I deploy where I must. NVIDIA will continue to be CUDA. Huawei is not “a chip.” It is an escape strategy. And the restrictions are the fuel that is making it inevitable. In Xataka | With HarmonyOS NEXT Huawei has achieved something incredible. Neither Samsung, Microsoft nor Mozilla achieved it Featured image | NVIDIA, Huawei

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