Microsoft, IFS, TSMC: This Week's Top Five Stories in AI

Why Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is Criticising AI Labs

Microsoft’s Satya Nadella has publicly criticised unnamed AI labs across the tech sector for their stance on AI distillation, a process that involves training a smaller AI model with the outputs of a larger, more powerful one.

In a post on the social media platform X, Satya says that model makers complaining about the distillation process are being hypocritical over the AI training process. 

He adds that while ‘the great innovation that comes from model providers having fair use rights to train on public data is needed’, he finds it ‘ironic’ that the consensus among AI model makers is to impose ‘restrictive terms’ on distillation. 

This happens while they still reserve the right to learn from customer usage and interaction data themselves.

“If learning flows in only one direction, economic value converges toward the owners of the learning infrastructure rather than the creators of the knowledge itself,” notes Satya.

Envision: Powering the Global AI Race with 5GW Desert Plan

Envision announced a new initiative at VivaTech 2026, launching Mission Gobi to develop 5GW of green AI data centre (AIDC) capacity in desert and arid regions for development by 2030.

The Gobi is a vast desert region stretching across parts of northern China and southern Mongolia, known for its extreme climate and expansive arid landscapes. 

The company, known for providing renewable energy system solutions for global enterprises, aims to create a new model for clean and scalable AI growth with this move. 

By building on its existing AI Power System capabilities which it already deploys at scale, the green technology company aims to transform how computing infrastructure is powered.

Lei Zhang, Founder and CEO of Envision, comments: "The traditional power system was not designed for the scale and speed of the AI era. Mission Gobi offers a new system-level approach – integrating renewable energy, storage, grid infrastructure and computing to deliver scalable, cost-competitive clean power."

IFS: The AI Power Behind Operations at Chelsea FC

IFS, a global leader in industrial AI, has reached an agreement with Chelsea Football Club to make the club a trailblazer in the use of AI within its operations. 

The enterprise software specialist says it is already setting a new benchmark and innovative approach for a Premier League football club. 

This agreement follows on from the announcement of the multi-year global partnership between IFS and Chelsea Football Club on 19 February 2024.

Mark Moffat, CEO at IFS, says: “Chelsea FC operates in a world where performance, precision, and pressure are non‑negotiable. That’s exactly the kind of environment where IFS Industrial AI thrives and delivers.

“This partnership will demonstrate to the world what's possible when elite ambition meets industrial-grade AI.”

How TSMC Dominates AI Chip-Making as Q2 Revenue Rises 36%

Taiwan is at the forefront of the global AI boom with the island housing the world’s largest contract chipmaker, TSMC, which has seen its second-quarter revenue surge 36% to a record high.

The organisation is a major supplier to leading technology companies like NVIDIA and Apple. It has been experiencing massive growth since the start of this year, especially from April to June.

Calculations from Reuters show revenue came in at T$1.27tn (US$39.62bn). This figure sits slightly above a T$1.264tn LSEG SmartEstimate drawn from 20 analysts.

The milestone follows stellar quarterly performances for the technology giant. Growth continues to climb as the manufacturer capitalises on intense computational workloads.

Japan: World’s First National AI infrastructure with NVIDIA

NVIDIA has announced it is working with Japanese AI consortium Noetra to launch an NVIDIA Vera Rubin AI factory supporting the Japanese Government's ambitions for physical AI. 

The initiative is supported by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) for its FRONTia Project .

NIVIDIA states that this marks the world’s first national AI infrastructure for physical AI and is aimed at strengthening Japan's AI ecosystem – supporting AI agents, digital twins and Japan’s newly released targets for industrial robotics. 

Japan’s AI Robotics Strategy, released in March 2026, sets a goal for the country to capture more than 30% of the global AI robotics market by 2040, representing an estimated US$133bn opportunity.

Japan is the world´s number-one industrial robot manufacturer – delivering 45% of the global supply, according to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). However, China is emerging as a key player, it is the world’s largest robotics market, representing 54% of global deployments.