Alphabet's $15 Billion Investment in Malaysia Data Centers Shows That Midterm Results Won't Stop the AI Boom

Alphabet (GOOG) announced a $15 billion investment in Malaysian data centers by 2028, aiming to expand computing capacity and cloud services. While this may support future revenue, investors are concerned about the cost of AI infrastructure amid rising capital expenditure. GOOG stock rose 0.78% on Nov 6 after a 1.94% drop the prior day, as broader tech selloffs reflected AI spending worries. Q3 revenue grew 25% YoY, but free cash flow turned negative.

Google, Meta, and TikTok sued California over AB 1709, a law restricting addictive social media features for children under 16. The companies argue it violates the First Amendment and conflicts with Section 230. The law targets personalized feeds, endless scrolling, and autoplay videos, requiring age verification. The state aims to protect children from exploitative features. The lawsuits are being reviewed by California's Attorney General. The law is set to take effect in 2027.

Google executive Donald Harrison resigned from SpaceX's board, citing potential conflicts of interest with Alphabet. SpaceX confirmed the resignation was not due to operational disagreements. Alphabet remains a major investor in SpaceX, holding approximately 555 million shares valued at around $74 billion. Both companies plan to continue their partnership.

Crusoe sold an unfinished Wyoming data center project to Google, which plans to invest $17 billion. The deal highlights challenges for independent data center developers. Google remains a customer for another Crusoe project in Texas. Crusoe recently raised $3.9 billion and serves major AI companies like Oracle, OpenAI, and Microsoft.

Google has acquired a Wyoming data center site from Crusoe, completing pre-development work. Crusoe, an AI infrastructure company, had been involved in site selection and power strategy. The site will be developed into a data center campus, with Crusoe also developing Google's data center in Texas. Crusoe has over 6 GW of contracted power and 40 GW in its pipeline.

Google plans a $17bn data center in Wyoming, powered by a 702MW fuel-cell plant, aiming for completion by 2028-2031. Dropbox acquires Tigris Data for $350m to expand AI infrastructure. Meta acquires Conductor, shutting down its cloud services by November 20. All three deals highlight tech firms' AI investments.