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Nscale swallows lion's share of UK datacenter investment

Nscale accounts for nearly two-thirds of the equity funding raised by UK datacenter infrastructure companies, according to a report from Tracxn. The market research firm identifies the rent-a-GPU operation as the only unicorn – a privately held company valued at more than $1 billion – in Britain's datacenter infrastructure sector. Nscale leads the pack with $3.7 billion raised, according to Tracxn, out of $5.7 billion across the sector. Other notable players identified by Tracxn include GreenScale, with $1.3 billion; Kao Data, with $177 million; Verne, with $125 million; Iceotope, with $107 million; and Six Degrees Group, with $106 million. Iceotope is not a datacenter operator but a developer of liquid-cooling systems, hence its inclusion in Tracxn's broader infrastructure category. Tracxn counts 154 companies in the sector, 24 of which have raised equity funding. It says investment has surged in recent years amid growing demand for AI infrastructure. Tracxn's report, Datacenter Infrastructure – UK, covers British companies that operate server farms or provide supporting IT infrastructure, such as Iceotope. It excludes businesses focused on datacenter construction or real estate. Companies based in London attracted 93 percent of the funding tracked by Tracxn, highlighting the sector's geographic concentration. Tracxn also says that the Brit datacenter infrastructure sector has recorded 36 acquisitions but only two IPOs. TelecityGroup was the largest acquisition, absorbed by US giant Equinix for $3.8 billion. Reports covering the broader UK datacenter construction market provide a different perspective. Infrastructure specialist Onnec cites Barbour ABI figures showing nearly 100 UK datacenter projects worth more than £36 billion ($49 billion) in the pipeline. That construction activity includes substantial investment by overseas operators, a market excluded from Tracxn's figures. US-headquartered operators including Digital Realty, Vantage Data Centers, CyrusOne, and Equinix have a substantial UK presence, alongside cloud giants Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, and Google. Onnec's research also points to the risk of datacenter infrastructure failing to keep pace with investment in AI hardware. Its latest survey found that 43 percent of operators had needed infrastructure upgrades or remedial work after facilities went live. The survey covered 300 decision-makers across the UK, Ireland, and the Nordic countries, rather than the UK alone. ®

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Regions Calling: Russia’s Indigenous Activists Assemble in Berlin

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The Eleventh Hour by Salman Rushdie audiobook review – stories with levity and laughter

The author explores themes of legacy, mortality and loneliness in the first work of fiction since his near-fatal attack

Five short stories and five readers make up Salman Rushdie’s collection, The Eleventh Hour, his first work of fiction since the near-fatal attack in 2022 where he sustained life-changing injuries. These tales find the author exploring legacy, mortality, loneliness and the ageing process. In these potentially bleak themes, Rushdie finds levity and laughter, as well as profundity.

Late, read by the actor Naveen Andrews, is a ghost story set in King’s College, Cambridge, where an honorary fellow, SM Arthur, wakes up dead in his college room and wonders if he will be trapped there for eternity. He meets a lonely but very much alive Indian student, Rosa, who is stuck at college for the holidays. Sid Sagar reads The Old Man in the Piazza, an allegory about free speech and how “we have become bar room moralists. Does the thumb point upward. Does it turn down? … We are all now gladiators in the Colosseum of the Thumb.”

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English winemakers expect ‘vintage year’ after record-breaking summer heat

Hot weather means sweeter grapes, but outlook gloomier for beermakers, as drought diminishes barley harvest

English sparkling winemakers expect their earliest grape harvest and a “vintage year” after a scorching summer quickly ripened grapes.

However, beer sellers have warned of a potential shortage after record-breaking temperatures and a drought hitting much of England has caused poor yields of barley.

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Alex Winter: ‘Michael Winner was the most erudite sociopath I’ve ever met’

The Bill & Ted actor answers your questions about working with Keanu Reeves, whether there will be a fourth instalment and nights out in Brixton with the Death Wish director

You were born in London but grew up in America. When do you feel most British? DonarudoToranpu
The UK is still my second home. I’ve worked there a lot as an adult. When I’m back in London, I like walking on Hampstead Heath, so I would say that’s where I feel most at home.

Having played Marko in The Lost Boys and then John Polidori in Haunted Summer, have you been tempted to take on another vampire-related role? And was getting staked to death while you were sleeping a bit of a disappointing end for Marko – what would have been your preferred way of going out in style? Death by stereo, perhaps? Finbarre and MoreorLesPaul
I’d love to do another vampire movie. I love those characters. They’re interesting and great fun to play. There are some really good vampire movies – I’m grateful I was in one that has, for some reason that none of us can figure out, really stood the test of time. And I love Marko’s death. As an actor, the first time you get staked is the most memorable.

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Much of Europe already levies a tourist tax – a nice little earner for Italian hotspots

While England makes its first foray into unfamiliar territory, it’s proved a boon for Italy’s cash-strapped municipalities

A nightly tourist tax may be unfamiliar territory in the UK, but countries in continental Europe have been cashing in on these kinds of levies for decades.

Tourists usually need to pay the tax on the day they check out of a hotel or holiday let, and are often surprised by an extra fee on top of their accommodation costs.

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The Odyssey and Spider-Man propel record-breaking summer box office worldwide

The biggest May to September of all time was recorded in US cinemas, with the UK enjoying a 56% rise in audiences, outstripped by an 88% lift in the Middle East and Africa

As well as celebrating their wedding, the actors Tom Holland and Zendaya have something else to toast: their two summer blockbusters – The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day – have officially made box office history.

The films were credited as the driving force behind the US’s biggest summer season of all time, taking $4.761bn (£3.51bn) from 1 May-7 September, beating 2013’s $4.756bn.

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VIDEO. Staatssecretaris Palmen in tranen over geheimhouden datakluis in Toeslagenschandaal

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Schakelen wij over naar de Kamer dat staatssecretarissen Eerenberg (hieronder) en Palmen (hierboven) maar weer eens zijn begonnen met oprechte excuses en verhalen over 'buikpijn' en 'erkennen van fouten', met zelfs oprecht opwellende tranen, over fouten die weer eens aan niets of niemand zijn toe te schrijven. Want het plan van het kabinet is dus om een nieuw BDO-onderzoek te gelasten naar de uitkomsten van het vorige BDO-onderzoek over het geheim houden van de datakluis voor de parlementaire enquêtecommissie Fraudebeleid en Dienstverlening. En nee, er komt geen aangifte en oh, pas op voor het aanspreken van individuele ambtenaren want die zijn in deze casus de echte slachtoffers. Het houdt nooit op hè.
REST DEBAT: Hierrr

Eerenberg doet GEEN AANGIFTE

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Toeslagenouder: niet onder de indruk

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Blue Hour in Echigo Yuzawa

Junkgirl™ has added a photo to the pool:

Blue Hour in Echigo Yuzawa

Niigata, Japan.

Reflect

Junkgirl™ has added a photo to the pool:

Reflect

Drops Installation in Tunnel of Light, Kiyotsu Gorge Tunnel, Niigata, Japan.