Iran threatens Stargate AI centers

TechCrunch

Iran has threatened to destroy the Stargate AI data center in the UAE—a $500 billion OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle joint venture—as part of escalating retaliation against U.S. threats to strike Iranian civilian infrastructure. Multiple cloud data centers in the region have already been hit by Iranian missiles.

TechCrunch

Iran has threatened to attack the Stargate AI data center in the UAE and other U.S. tech infrastructure in the Middle East, having already struck AWS and Oracle facilities in the region. The escalating conflict puts the $500 billion OpenAI-SoftBank-Oracle joint venture and broader AI infrastructure at geopolitical risk.

The Register

Anthropic has banned subscription access to OpenClaw and third-party tools using Claude due to capacity constraints and service strain, forcing users to pay for extra usage or API access. The move follows service outages and reflects broader challenges in balancing demand with infrastructure capacity as the company prepares to go public.

Atlassian launched Remix, an AI visual tool that transforms Confluence data into graphics, plus three third-party agents for prototyping and app building. The move reflects the industry's shift toward embedding AI into existing workflows rather than deploying standalone AI platforms.

Bloomberg

Tech layoffs surpassed 52,000 in Q1 2025, with AI investment cited in 25% of March cuts as companies pursue leaner staffing through automation. This marks the highest first-quarter tech job reductions since 2023.