Energy
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Peter Thiel is leading investment in an ocean data center powered by waves—and the startup is reportedly worth $1 billion
As hyperscalers like Alphabet look to the skies as the next frontier of data centers, Peter Thiel is looking to the seas. Panthalassa, a U.S.-based start up betting on ocean waves to power a fleet of floating data centers, announced $140 million in funding earlier this month led by Thiel. The funding pushes Panthalassa’s valuation
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The airplane fuel shortage is a myth propagated by airlines who want to cancel unprofitable flights, says private jet CEO
There is no jet fuel shortage, according to Greg Raiff, CEO of private jet services company Elevate Jet. The Strait of Hormuz may be closed, locking away more than 20% of the world’s supply of jet fuel. Major airlines have cancelled hundreds of flights all over the world. And Europe may reach a 23-day shortage
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Fervo becomes clean energy’s biggest-ever IPO with $10B valuation—powered by the earth’s heat and AI’s hunger
Houston geothermal startup Fervo scored Wall Street’s biggest clean energy IPO ever, and its stock opened 35% higher on May 13 for a market cap above $10 billion. Bill Gates-backed Fervo aims to take the nascent industry mainstream to power the AI boom in short order. The technology combines old-school geothermal science with modern oil-drilling
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Malaysia is shocked, shocked to find Iranian-linked tankers slipping through its waters
Malaysia’s maritime agency says Iranian-linked tankers are exploiting “jurisdictional gaps” to conduct ship-to-ship transfers of sanctioned oil near its waters, rejecting allegations that authorities ignored a long-running trade allowing Iran to evade U.S. sanctions. U.S.-based advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) and shipping industry observers say waters near Malaysia’s southern Johor state have become a key
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Goldman sees an AI bottleneck that can’t be vide-coded away. Ford’s CEO warns it’s already a ‘full-blown’ crisis
The most expensive technology buildout in history is running headfirst into a problem Silicon Valley can’t code its way out of: there aren’t enough electricians, linemen, and tradespeople to build the physical world that AI needs to exist in. Ford CEO Jim Farley has been blunt about it. The data center boom, he told Fortune,
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President Trump’s Golden Dome will cost $1.2 trillion, the CBO says, five times more than initially expected
Good morning. On Fortune’s radar today: A “complete reversal”: Market bears are getting louder. Could China flip Iran? Export policy built into Nvidia compensation packages. The K-shaped economy is only getting worse. President Trump’s Golden Dome plan will cost $1.2 trillion. Today’s edition was written by Eleanor Pringle, Senior Reporter, Economics and Markets. Quick note:
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Frankenpipelines: Inside Trump’s bid to resurrect Keystone XL and stretch Dakota Access north
Two of the most controversial pipeline projects this century—the failed Keystone XL project and the successful Dakota Access Pipeline—are gaining new life to move Canadian oil into the U.S., backed by cross-border permits quickly approved by President Donald Trump. The April permits arrive as oil producers push to move growing Canadian volumes to U.S. refineries,
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Japanese snack giant resorts to black-and-white bags of potato chips as Iran War literally sucks color out of the world
The biggest snack maker in Japan is making some of its packaging black and white as the Iran war disrupts the market for a key material used to produce printing inks. Calbee, which controls half of Japan’s snacks market but also does business in the U.S., said in a press release Tuesday that several of
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India brings back COVID-era work-from-home rules and asks farmers to halve fertilizer use as the Iran war chokes its oil lifeline
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is bringing back COVID-era work-from-home arrangements as the war in Iran cuts off a major oil lifeline. In an address earlier this week, the prime minister said Indians should make arrangements to work from home and take more virtual meetings. If citizens must leave home, they should take public transportation,
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April inflation shoots 3.8% higher on surging prices from war in Iran
U.S. consumer prices climbed sharply again last month as the 10-week war with Iran pushed energy prices higher. The Labor Department’s consumer price index rose 3.8% from April 2025, according to data released Tuesday. On a month-to-month basis, April prices rose 0.6% from March as gasoline prices rose 5.4% during the month; the month-over-month gain