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AI Infrastructure Spending Soars – New Era Energy & Digital Joins the Race

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Vancouver, Kelowna, and Delta, British Columbia–(Newsfile Corp. – August 13, 2025) – Investorideas.com (www.investorideas.com), a leader in retail investor trading ideas for AI and tech, looks at the booming AI infrastructure market and new player, New Era Energy & Digital, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAI), formerly New Era Helium, Inc. (NASDAQ: NEHC), a next-generation platform developing integrated solutions across energy, power, and digital infrastructure.

New Company in the Booming AI Infrastructure Market – New Era energy & Digital, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAI)

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The global Artificial Intelligence (AI) infrastructure market is on track for unprecedented growth, poised to surpass $200 billion USD in spending by 2028 according to the latest findings from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Semiannual Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Tracker. Organizations increased spending on compute and storage hardware infrastructure for AI deployments by 97% year-over-year in the first half of 2024, reaching $47.4 billion.

AI infrastructure stocks making recent headlines include Applied Digital Corporation, CoreWeave and Vertiv Holdings Co.

Now there is a new player is in the mix; a company that has a history as an energy supplier is aiming to power up the AI revolution. New Era Energy & Digital, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAI) just announced it has changed its corporate name to reflect its new business strategy and direction.

From the news:
This rebrand reflects the Company’s recent strategic transformation into a vertically integrated energy supplier, creating a platform for next-generation digital infrastructure and integrated power assets, including powered land and powered shells. The Company delivers turnkey solutions that will enable hyperscale, enterprise, and edge operators to accelerate data center deployment, optimize total cost of ownership and future-proof their infrastructure investments. New Era Energy & Digital, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAI), projects generational AI infrastructure demand will grow exponentially over the next decade, driven by rising capacity and significant increases in sector investment.

The Company remains under the same leadership team and continues to execute the strategy it introduced with its Texas Critical Data Centers (TCDC) project focused on integrating behind-the-meter power (off-grid) and real estate (“Powered Land”), and digital infrastructure tailored for the rapidly expanding AI compute market.

Texas Critical Data Centers, currently under development in Ector County, Texas is a scalable, up to 1 gigawatt (GW) AI and high-performance computing (HPC) campus designed to meet accelerating demand for compute capacity and clean energy. Located in one of North America’s leading AI corridors, TCDC will deliver liquid-cooled, high-efficiency compute infrastructure with speed, resilience, and sustainability.

In line with its strategic focus on power and compute infrastructure, the Company is in discussions with various parties on how best to maximize its natural gas and helium assets. The Company remains committed to the global AI ecosystem, where helium continues to play a crucial role in semiconductor manufacturing and the future growth of AI. The Company will seek to maximize shareholder value of its natural gas and helium assets while pivoting to AI infrastructure development efforts. Updates will be provided as developments occur.

The Company has launched a newly updated website featuring refreshed branding and messaging. A revised investor presentation outlining the strategic roadmap will be available shortly.

E. Will Gray II, CEO of New Era Helium, Inc. commented: “This name change marks the next chapter. It’s a clear signal of who we are and where we’re headed. We are the bridge between Silicon Valley and Houston, connecting the compute demands of tomorrow with the energy systems of today, for a shared digital future. With a growing base of vertically integrated assets, from powered land to powered shells, we bring deep infrastructure and energy expertise to help hyperscale, enterprise, and edge operators deploy future-ready HPC campuses faster. Our new name: New Era Energy & Digital, perfectly captures the full breadth of our expanded strategic vision: delivering the physical foundation that powers American innovation.”

On July 30th, Applied Digital Corporation, a designer, builder and operator of next-generation digital infrastructure reported financial results for the fiscal fourth quarter and fiscal year ended May 31, 2025. The Company also provided an operational update. Looking at their numbers and commentary from management, the AI infrastructure demand is a driving force in their revenue growth,

From the news:
Fiscal Fourth Quarter 2025 Financial Highlights:

  • Revenues: $38.0 million, up 41% from the prior year comparable period

  • Net loss attributable to common stockholders: $26.6 million, down 25% from the prior year comparable period

  • Net loss attributable to common stockholders per basic and diluted share: $0.12, down 57% from the prior year comparable period

  • Adjusted net loss attributable to common stockholders: $7.6 million

  • Adjusted net loss attributable to common stockholders per diluted share: $0.03

  • Adjusted EBITDA: $1.0 million

Recent Highlights:

  • Announced 250MW AI Data Center Leases With CoreWeave in North Dakota: Over the approximately 15-year lease terms, Applied Digital anticipates generating approximately $7 billion in contracted revenue from the leases.

  • Since the end of the fourth quarter 2025, CoreWeave exercised its option for an additional 150MW, which would bring the total capacity leased by CoreWeave to 400MW and would add approximately $4 billion in contracted revenue, which would bring total contracted revenue to approximately $11 billion for the approximately 15-year lease terms.

  • Released white paper, AI Factory: A Case Study of Total Ownership, which explains how site selection in regions like the Dakotas and data center design choices can significantly reduce the long-term costs of generative AI infrastructure.

“Building on the momentum from these leases and the surging demand for AI infrastructure, we’re actively marketing our multi-gigawatt pipeline to a diverse group of customers,” said Wes Cummins, Chairman and CEO of Applied Digital. “Over the past two years, we’ve streamlined our processes, enhanced our building design for greater flexibility, and established a repeatable approach supported by a strong supply chain. As a result, we’ve reduced projected build times from 24 months to 12 to 14 months, which we believe will enable us to deliver large-scale projects faster and more efficiently.”

Strengthening its position as a leader in AI infrastructure, CoreWeave recently announced it closed a $2.6 billion delayed draw term loan facility (“DDTL 3.0 Facility”), continuing the company’s investment in world-class infrastructure tailored for artificial intelligence. The funding will be used to support the purchase and maintenance of advanced equipment, hardware, and cloud infrastructure systems to deliver services under a long-term agreement with OpenAI.

“We’re proud to partner with leading financial institutions on this landmark transaction that delivers on our commitment to lower our cost of capital,” said Brannin McBee, Chief Development Officer and co-founder of CoreWeave. “This is another step forward in our ability to provide our highly specialized AI cloud platform at massive scale to meet the demands of our innovative clients.”

“CoreWeave is an important partner in OpenAI’s overarching AI infrastructure platform,” said Sarah Friar, CFO of OpenAI. “Scaling advanced AI requires world-class compute infrastructure, and partnering with CoreWeave and leading financial institutions enables us to train more capable models and deliver better experiences to people around the world.”

Analysts and investors are loving the AI infrastructure boom.

According to a recent article, “Vertiv Holdings Co. has delivered standout stock performance in 2025, up 23% in 2025, significantly outpacing the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 8.7% gain during the same timeframe. Over the past 12 months, Vertiv stock surged nearly 97%, significantly outperforming the S&P 500’s 20% growth. Notably, a major portion of Vertiv’s gains occurred after April, with shares up 46% over the past three months.”

“Vertiv Holdings was recently rated ‘Outperform’ by William Blair analysts, citing its pivotal role in meeting surging demand for artificial intelligence-driven data center infrastructure. The expanding adoption of generative AI, cloud software, and high-performance computing is driving a projected annual increase in data center capacity of 13-20 GW through 2030, leading to a potential 100 GW in new capacity.”

On July 30th the company reported financial results for its second quarter ended June 30, 2025.

From the news:
Vertiv delivered strong second quarter performance with net sales of $2,638 million, representing a 35% increase ($685 million) from the prior year period, driven by robust data center demand and continued market penetration. Orders momentum remained robust, with second quarter 2025 organic orders increasing approximately 15% year-over-year and 11% sequentially from first quarter 2025. Our TTM organic orders for the period ending June 30, 2025 grew approximately 11% compared to the prior year TTM period, reflecting sustained market demand. Our strong market position is evidenced by our growing backlog of $8.5 billion and a book-to-bill ratio of approximately 1.2X for the quarter.

“Vertiv’s second quarter performance demonstrates the strength of our market position and our ability to execute at scale,” said Giordano Albertazzi, Vertiv’s Chief Executive Officer. “Our 35% sales growth and robust orders momentum reflect both strong market demand and our expanded capabilities to serve our customers’ increasingly complex infrastructure needs. We are strategically investing in capacity expansion and accelerating our innovation pipeline to capitalize on unprecedented data center growth, particularly in AI-enabled infrastructure. The announced agreement to acquire Great Lakes Data Racks & Cabinets further strengthens our position in the fast-growing data center market. As we progress on our strong growth trajectory, we are vigorously addressing some temporary margin challenges which we anticipate will be materially addressed by the end of 2025. Given our strong performance, backlog and positive outlook, we are raising our full-year adjusted diluted EPS, net sales, adjusted operating profit and adjusted free cash flow forecast, positioning Vertiv for even stronger performance in the quarters ahead.”

The makert and investors reacted positively to the news of New Era Energy & Digital, Inc.’s (NASDAQ: NUAI) rebranding, with the stock gaining in early trading. With their focus on energy in the future of AI Infrastructure growth and demand, they are right on the money.

IDC expects AI adoption to continue growing at a remarkable pace as hyperscalers, CSPs, private companies, and governments around the world are increasingly prioritizing AI. Growing concerns around energy consumption for AI infrastructure will become a factor in datacenters looking for alternatives to optimize their architectures and minimize energy use” said Lidice Fernandez , Group Vice President, Worldwide Enterprise Infrastructure Trackers.

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Metal Gear Solid back with remake years after Kojima left Konami

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Tom GerkenTechnology reporter

Konami A video game character rendered in modern, high-quality graphics. She has long dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. She is wearing a jacket and has goggles hanging around her neck.Konami

EVA, one of the main characters in the remade game (image brightened from source)

Metal Gear is one of the best-selling video game series in history, shifting more than 60 million copies.

The series pioneered cinematics in gaming by blending cutting-edge cutscenes, voice acting and dynamic camera angles to create something that would have looked more at home on the big screen at the time.

Metal Gear tackled themes not commonly seen in games, such as nuclear disarmament and child soldiers, and posed philosophical questions while also leveraging offbeat humour.

The games would often break the fourth wall and ask players to find solutions to puzzles in unusual ways – such as looking on the back cover of the game’s physical box.

The series’ significant place in gaming history meant fans were stunned when its creator Hideo Kojima quit game publisher Konami in an acrimonious split in 2015.

One of gaming’s biggest titles was left directionless – and there’s been no game in the best-selling series since.

But now, a decade later, Konami has released a remake of the third game in the series: Metal Gear Solid Delta.

So what happened between Konami and Kojima, and how does the new game hold up without its original creator?

Why did Kojima leave Konami?

“The impact Metal Gear has had on game-making makes it one of the most heralded entertainment franchises in the world, and made Hideo Kojima one of the industry’s most famous creators,” industry expert Christopher Dring told the BBC.

With such success, you might think it was a match made in heaven, but there were issues bubbling under the surface.

While nothing has been said publicly, one generally accepted theory behind the split relates to the spiralling cost of 2015’s Metal Gear Solid V, estimated by some at more than $80m (£59m) – a very significant development cost at the time.

It is not known exactly what happened between Konami and Kojima, but the studio was clearly fed up with the amount of money he was spending to make a single game – with Kojima’s internal studio actually removed from promotional materials for Metal Gear Solid V at the time.

Konami got the game out the door, but it seemed to be scaled back from its original vision despite the high cost, with repeated levels and a third chapter that never emerged.

Even so, the game still received excellent reviews and won several awards, but the rift between company and creator seemed unfixable.

And in an act that proved highly controversial – and perhaps shows how heated things had become behind the scenes – when Metal Gear Solid V won an award, Konami informed the developer he was not allowed to collect it.

Getty Images Hideo Kojima. He has black hair in a short cut and wears large black glasses. He is smiling while he talks at a conference. He is wearing a trim black jacket and black t-shirt.Getty Images

Hideo Kojima has become one of the most famous names in gaming over the past three decades

A few months later, Kojima was gone, and in the years that followed, his former studio pivoted.

“Konami shifted its strategy for a while, away from console games, and focused its efforts on the amusements markets, things like pachinko machines,” Mr Dring said.

“They also focused increasingly on mobile.”

It meant Konami’s other classic franchises like Castlevania and Silent Hill also went without new games for a decade.

Meanwhile, Kojima’s new studio signed a blockbuster deal with Sony to develop the monster hit Death Stranding for PlayStation, followed by a sequel this year.

Why a remake now?

Gaming has pivoted towards remakes in recent years.

High-profile games like Resident Evil 4, Final Fantasy VII and Demon’s Souls, all classics in their day, have been remade with the benefits of modern graphics and game design to big fanfare – and strong sales figures.

“It’s a hugely lucrative and growing sector,” said Mr Dring.

“The industry is getting older, gamers are entering middle age and are nostalgic for classic titles.

Mr Drings points out that one of the best-selling games of the year so far is Elder Scrolls V: Oblivion Remastered, a remake of a classic Role-Playing Game (RPG) from 2007, selling millions of copies since its release in April.

Konami has begun a return to publishing games by focusing in this area, with a Silent Hill remake coming last year and a new Survival Kids game released earlier in 2025.

So it is a potentially lucrative move – but is Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater the right game to remake?

Konami A jungle scene from a video game. It is instantly recognisable as an older video game, with blocky rocks and pixel-y trees.Konami

A jungle scene from Metal Gear Solid 3’s original release in 2004. Believe it or not, these were considered ground-breaking graphics at the time

Fans of the series told the BBC Metal Gear Solid 3 was chosen for good reason.

YouTuber Zak Ras said there was “immense significance” behind the game.

“Most people will say their favourite entry to the series is either Metal Gear Solid 1 or 3,” he said.

“Story-wise, given that it’s the first prequel set at the very beginning of the series timeline, it’s one of the few entries you can go into completely blind with absolutely no required knowledge of the series, other than very first Metal Gear from 1987.”

Ras said Metal Gear Solid 3 struck a good balance between gameplay and cinematic storytelling, making it a good choice for people who have never played a game in the series before.

For example, the game opens with an introduction heavily influenced by James Bond films, meaning new fans are eased into the series’ weirder elements.

And the brothers behind PythonSelkan Studios – known as Python & Selkan to their 122,000 YouTube subscribers – agreed.

“Completing the game was an incredible experience in itself,” they said. “Snake Eater’s gut-wrenching ending is what stood out most, leaving an impact on us that no other game had ever left before.”

“This game holds a special place in our hearts,” they added.

Metal Gear without Kojima

The brothers said, as lifelong fans of the series, they were “incredibly excited” by the announcement.

The pair are currently playing the remake, and have been “very impressed” by its improved graphics and audio.

They described the game as a “truly a faithful recreation”, adding that it improved “the essence of the original without changing its fundamental structure”.

Konami A jungle scene rendered in a video game. In the foreground, photo-realistic plants grow in front of a large tree. Several trees in the background are broken up by a beam of light.Konami

The game’s lush jungle setting has benefitted from two decades of improvements in graphical fidelity

So far so good for Metal Gear Solid without Hideo Kojima – which Ras put down to the game being true to the original.

One example he highlights is that the voice performances have been kept the same, and players can choose whether to use the original control scheme or a more modern take.

“There’s no doubt it is Kojima’s directorial ‘genes’ that are being dominantly expressed here,” he said.

“Kojima expressed a desire to move on from Metal Gear since as early as MGS2 and leave the series in the hands of others to continue.

“It may have taken him another 14 years and five director credits for that to happen, but it is now reality.”

And however the remake fares with fans, one household won’t be picking up a new copy – Kojima himself has laughed off the suggestion that he would play the new game.

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Bitcoin Proxy’s Chief Seeks Funding Fix as ‘Flywheel’ Falters

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Simon Gerovich, who turned a struggling Japanese hotelier into a Bitcoin stockpiler and investor darling, is feeling the heat.



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Anthropic Settles Landmark Artificial Intelligence Copyright Case

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Anthropic’s settlement came after a mixed ruling on the “fair use” where it potentially faced massive piracy damages for downloading millions of books illegally. The settlement seems to clarify an important principle: how AI companies acquire data matters as much as what they do with it.

After warning both the district court and an appeals court that the potential pursuit of hundreds of billions of dollars in statutory damages created a “death knell” situation that would force an unfair settlement, Anthropic has settled its closely watched copyright lawsuit with authors whose books were allegedly pirated for use in Anthropic’s training data. Anthropic’s settlement this week in a landmark copyright case may signal how the industry will navigate the dozens of similar lawsuits pending nationwide. While settlement details remain confidential pending court approval, the timing reveals essential lessons for AI development and intellectual property law.

The settlement follows Judge William Alsup’s nuanced ruling that using copyrighted materials to train AI models constitutes transformative fair use (essentially, using copyrighted material in a new way that doesn’t compete with the original) — a victory for AI developers. The court held that AI models are “like any reader aspiring to be a writer” who trains upon works “not to race ahead and replicate or supplant them — but to turn a hard corner and create something different.”

(For readers unfamiliar with copyright law, “fair use” is a legal doctrine that allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission for purposes like criticism, comment, or — as courts are now determining — AI training. A key test is whether the new use “transforms” the original work by adding something new or serving a different purpose, rather than simply copying it. Think of it as the difference between a critic quoting a novel to review it versus someone photocopying the entire book to avoid buying it.)

After ruling in Anthropic’s favor on this issue, Judge Alsup drew a bright line at acquisition methods. Anthropic’s downloading of over seven million books from pirate sites like LibGen constituted infringement, the judge ruled, rejecting Anthropic’s “research purpose” defense: “You can’t just bless yourself by saying I have a research purpose and, therefore, go and take any textbook you want.”

The settlement’s timing suggests a pragmatic approach to risk management. While Anthropic could claim vindication on training methodology, defending its acquisition methods before a jury posed substantial financial exposure. Statutory damages for willful infringement can reach $150,000 per work, creating potential liability for Anthropic totaling in the billions.

Anthropic is still facing copyright suits from music publishers, including Universal Music Corp. and Concord Music Group Inc., as well as Reddit. The settlement with authors removes one of Anthropic’s many legal challenges. Lawyers for the plaintiffs said, “[t]his historic settlement will benefit all class members,” promising to announce details in the coming weeks.

This settlement solidifies the principles established in Judge Alsup’s prior ruling: how AI companies acquire training data matters as much as what they do with it. The court’s framework permits AI systems to learn from human cultural output, but only through legitimate channels.

For practitioners advising AI projects and companies, the lesson is straightforward: document data sources meticulously and ensure the legitimate acquisition of data. AI companies that previously relied on scraped or pirated content face strong incentives to negotiate licensing agreements or develop alternative training approaches. Publishers and authors gain leverage to demand compensation, even as the fair use doctrine limits their ability to block AI training entirely.

The Anthropic settlement marks neither a total victory nor a defeat for either side, but rather a recognition of the complex realities governing AI and intellectual property. It also remains to be seen what impact it will have on similar pending cases, including whether this will create a pattern of AI companies settling when facing potential class actions. In this new landscape, the legitimacy of the process matters as much as the innovation of the outcome. That balance will define the next chapter of AI development. Under Anthropic, it is apparent that to maximize chances of AI models constituting fair use, developers should use a bookstore, not a pirate’s flag.



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