Tech5: Google may face Chrome sale, Australia introduces social media bill to protect children, and more

Google could also be forced to divest its Android operating system if other remedies fail. The government has outlined several key demands: Google must divest Chrome to a buyer approved by the government, refrain from owning a browser or investing in search-related rivals for five years, and end payments to companies like Apple to make Google the default search engine.

Additionally, Google should not secure exclusive contracts with publishers or favour its own search engine and AI products. The company would also be required to license search results and share user data with competitors at minimal cost, barring privacy concerns, according to the report.

Nvidia beats expectations, but stock still drops on outlook

Nvidia's latest quarterly earnings results, for its fiscal Q3, exceeded analyst expectations on November 20, but its stock still dropped by as much as 3 percent in after-hours trading. The chipmaker posted $19.3 billion in net income, or $0.81 adjusted earnings per share, beating estimates of $17.4 billion and $0.75 EPS, Forbes reported.

Sales surged 53 percent year-over-year to $35.1 billion, well above forecasts of $33.2 billion. The company’s fourth-quarter guidance of $37.5 billion in revenue, though robust, implied a slower growth rate, leading to some investor disappointment, according to Forbes.

Nvidia's data centre segment, where most of its AI accelerator sales happen, is 700 percent bigger than two years ago, driven by surging demand for AI technology, Forbes notes. On a quarterly basis, the data centre segment’s Q3 revenue of $30.8 billion was up 17 percent from the previous quarter and 112 percent from a year ago.

“The age of AI is in full steam, propelling a global shift to Nvidia computing,” Founder and CEO Jensen Huang, said in an earnings press release. “Demand for Hopper and anticipation for Blackwell — in full production — are incredible as foundation model makers scale pretraining, post-training and inference.”

JLL sees $3.8 bln real estate capex for India’s DC growth by 2026

India's data centre industry is poised for significant growth, fuelled by AI advancements and the national rollout of 5G. JLL India, the Indian unit of the global commercial real estate manager, projects 604 MW additional capacity being added from H2 of 2024 to 2026, positioning the country as a hub for AI and data infrastructure, according to a press release earlier today.

In the first half of 2024, the sector reached 917 MW capacity, with 873 MW already occupied, highlighting tight market conditions. Over the past five years, the industry grew 2.5 times at a 24 percent CAGR.

“Hyperscalers are increasingly pursuing self-build projects in major data centre hubs, while operators are planning new campuses powered by 400 kVA lines to support AI clusters,” Rachit Mohan, APAC Lead - Data Centre Leasing, JLL, said in the release.

Navi Mumbai, a satellite city near Mumbai, is emerging as a key data centre location, with potential demand expected to reach 800 MW in next few years, Mohan added. The future expansion of DCs in India till 2026 will require approximately 7.3 million sq. ft of real estate and a capital investment of $3.8 billion, Samantak Das, chief economist and head of research & REIS, India, JLL, said in the release.

Mumbai is expected to maintain its market leadership, with significant growth in Chennai and other regions.

India signs MoU with Germany’s H2Global on green hydrogen projects

The Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd (SECI), under Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, signed an MoU with Germany’s H2Global Stiftung to establish a collaborative framework to promote Green Hydrogen initiatives, according to a ministry press release on November 20.

This collaboration aims to enhance knowledge exchange on market-based mechanisms and foster cooperation between India and importing countries, thereby contributing to the global advancement of the green hydrogen economy, the ministry said in the release.

This partnership offers India the opportunity to work on joint tender design concepts, particularly in structuring joint tenders that aligns with India’s ambition to become an export hub of green hydrogen and its derivatives. The cooperation may provide valuable insights into global hydrogen market dynamics, including trade logistics and stakeholder engagement, which can be instrumental in furthering India’s green hydrogen efforts, according to the release.