February 19, 2026

Top news (3)

1. Large India build-out signal: Google announces AI investments and partnerships at India summit including $15bn for foundational AI infrastructure and new America–India Connect fibre routes linking the U.S., India and Southern Hemisphere locations.

2. Big-ticket power for AI data centres: Japan and U.S. agree first Strategic Investment Initiative projects includes a gas-fired power project for AI data centers (~$33.3bn) as part of the first tranche.

3. Virginia gas + transmission line controversy: Tenaska gas plant proposal threatens Virginia communities, data centres — Tenaska is appealing a county planning decision and pursuing approval for a second gas-fired plant, with a proposed ~115-mile 765kV transmission line discussed as a way to supply data centres.

Key deals & platform moves

UK / Funds & capital formation

• Gorilla to acquire Shackleton and form Gorilla Technology Capital: Gorilla Technology Group signed an MOU to acquire UK-authorised AIFM Shackleton Finance and rebrand as Gorilla Technology Capital.
  • Aim: a regulated investment vehicle for institutional capital targeting AI data centres, GPU-as-a-Service, quantum, and cybersecurity assets.
  • Status: conditional on UK FCA approval and execution of a definitive sale and purchase agreement.

India / Compute infrastructure ecosystem

• NVIDIA partners to expand compute and sovereign AI in India: NVIDIA partnerships tied to the IndiaAI Mission (stated as investing over $1bn to boost compute capacity).
  • Notable capacity signals cited:
    • Yotta “Shakti Cloud”: 20,000+ Blackwell Ultra GPUs.
    • E2E Networks: HGX B200 cluster at L&T Vyoma.
    • Netweb: GB200 NVL4 systems manufactured in India.
• Google announces AI investments and partnerships at India summit: alongside the $15bn infrastructure investment, Google.org announced $30m (AI for Government Impact Challenge) and $30m (AI for Science Impact Challenge), plus partnerships with Indian government bodies via DeepMind / Google Center for Climate Technology.

Power, grid, and interconnection highlights

United States (Virginia)

• Tenaska gas plant proposal threatens Virginia communities, data centres:
  • Developer: Expedition Generation Holdings (Tenaska).
  • Process: appealing a Fluvanna County Planning Commission decision; Planning Commission to review stack height and a Special Use Permit on Feb. 24, 2026.
  • Externalities cited: a Harvard Dominici Lab study says the plant would increase PM2.5 exposure affecting 4+ million people.
  • System context: Tenaska claims the plant could power up to 1.5m homes; story references potential delivery via a proposed ~115-mile 765kV transmission line to supply data centres.

Japan–U.S. strategic investment / power build

• Japan and U.S. agree first Strategic Investment Initiative projects: first-tranche includes three projects, notably:
  • Gas-fired power project for AI data centers (~$33.3bn).
  • Other tranche items for context: synthetic diamond manufacturing (~$600m) and U.S. crude export infrastructure (~$2.1bn).
  • Industrial supply chain angle: multiple Japanese firms and SMEs expressed interest in supplying equipment/components (including Toshiba, Hitachi, Mitsubishi Electric, SoftBank among others listed).

Backup power decarbonisation (technology marketing)

• Whitepaper: Hydrogen backup for net-zero data center power and Jenbacher hydrogen generators for decarbonizing data center backup power: INNIO positions Jenbacher hydrogen generators as a route to decarbonise data-centre backup power in North America (materials presented as a white paper / download).

Sustainability, operations, and efficiency (operator & vendor updates)

North America (Canada / U.S.)

• Cologix advances sustainable data centers amid AI growth:
  • Reported 2024 metrics: PUE 1.486 and WUE 0.203.
  • Certifications/energy mix: LEED Gold for Montreal MTL8; 65% of energy from carbon-free sources (as stated).
  • Power strategy examples:
    • Partnership with AEP Ohio to install on-site fuel cells at a future Columbus facility; described as funded by Cologix under a long-term contract.
    • Use of Hydro-Québec hydropower (stated as ~99% renewable in Montreal) and deep lake water cooling in Toronto.

Digital infrastructure management tooling

• Schneider Electric reflects on EcoStruxure IT 2025 and 2026 roadmap:
  • 2026 roadmap themes: security, monitoring, digital twin, and AI enhancements.
  • Specific product notes: NetBotz TAA (U.S. government), DCE scalability to 4,000 devices under SNMPv3, IT Advisor 3D engine and AR app.
  • Commercial/assurance: licensing simplified from >300 to 9; ISO 27001 for IT Expert; mentions Motivair liquid-cooling integrations and CUE carbon reporting addition.

Policy / regulation and sovereignty signals

Europe / cloud sovereignty

• Sigma Software Head: Cloud repatriation, partnerships and Gaia‑X: discusses European-facing partnership strategy supporting cloud repatriation, engagement with Gaia‑X, and work with European providers (e.g., UpCloud) and open-source/OpenStack contributions.

Geopolitics intersecting with “data-centre zones” (Gaza)

• Europe urged to reject Trump’s Gaza redevelopment masterplan: references a proposed development plan including designated data-centre zones and biometric surveillance, with Europeans and Arab states due to consider the plan at a Board of Peace meeting in Washington on Feb. 19.

Industry context (demand & design requirements)

• How Data Centers Power AI and the Edge Now: Telehouse/techUK discussion highlighting practical design constraints for AI and edge use cases: power density, latency, data sovereignty, resilience, and connectivity, with perspectives spanning Europe, Japan, and Canada.

2-line close

Capital formation and sovereign-compute announcements are accelerating, with India and Japan–U.S. initiatives pointing to large downstream infrastructure needs.

At the same time, local permitting and public-health scrutiny around new generation and transmission can still be the pace-setter for deliverability.