This Week's Top Five Stories in Technology
1. What OpenAI & Oracle's US$30bn Deal Means for Data Centres
OpenAI and Oracle commit to a US$30bn data centre deal, with OpenAI renting more computing power from Oracle in a bid to expand the Stargate initiative
OpenAI is set to bolster its computational resources by renting an additional 4.5GW of data centre power from Oracle in the United States.
This venture signifies a US$30bn investment designed to support OpenAI’s ongoing expansion efforts.
Bloomberg reports that this procurement is a critical part of the Stargate initiative, a US$500bn infrastructure project steered by OpenAI and Oracle, in collaboration with SoftBank and other key stakeholders.
The ultimate objective is to establish large-scale data centres across the US, reinforcing the development of sophisticated AI models and potentially advancing toward artificial general intelligence (AGI).
The demand for data centre capacity initiated by this partnership compels Oracle to expand its infrastructure rapidly.
With OpenAI’s ambition to secure a comprehensive computing foundation, Oracle is set to develop multiple data hubs throughout the US to accommodate this need.
2. Tennis, Tradition & Technology: Inside Wimbledon’s AI Era
Wimbledon replaces human line judges with electronic ball-tracking technology for 2025 tournament, joining ATP Tour's automated officiating revolution
There are few things more quintessentially British than Wimbledon.
At the end of June each year, thousands of tennis fanatics make the pilgrimage to this sunny corner of Southwest London, ready to revel in the world’s oldest tennis tournament.
Throughout its 148-year history, Wimbledon’s organisers have been dedicated to preserving the traditions that have become an integral part of the event’s identity.
Whether it’s the players' all-white uniforms, the strawberries and cream or the Royal Box, the traditions of Wimbledon make it distinct from any other tennis tournament.
Since its inception in 1877, one of the most iconic symbols of Wimbledon has been its sharply-dressed line judges.
The officials — always garbed in striped shirts, white trousers and ties — have populated the perimeters of Wimbledon’s courts right from the start, assisting the umpires with their eagle-eyed judgements.
However, this year’s tournament will break this tradition for the first time, with AI ball tracking replacing line judges from 2025 onwards.
3. Why the US Senate Has Voted Down Trump’s AI Moratorium 99-1
US Senators reject the AI clause of President Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’, striking a 10-year regulation freeze despite lobbying efforts of major firms
The US Senate has delivered a resounding rejection of proposed regulation restrictions around AI, voting 99-1 to remove a controversial 10-year moratorium from US President Donald Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’, which focuses on domestic policy.
The moratorium would have effectively barred states from enforcing laws relating to AI for a decade, including regulations addressing sexually explicit deepfakes and political manipulation technologies.
The amendment to strike the moratorium received support from senators across party lines, with co-sponsors including Senators Ed Markey, Maria Cantwell and Marsha Blackburn.
“This 99-1 vote sent a clear message that Congress will not sell out our kids and local communities in order to pad the pockets of Big Tech billionaires,” Ed said following the vote.
The moratorium had previously been tied to federal funding for internet infrastructure deployment by Senate Commerce Committee Republicans earlier this month.
The Senate’s decision has been welcomed by technology regulation specialists, many of whom have been speaking up about the issues surrounding AI governance.
Luiza Jarovsky, Co-Founder of the AI, Tech & Privacy Academy, acknowledges that while the motion is a good start, this is not the end of the road.
“Ideally, the next step would be a comprehensive federal law regulating AI,” she says.
4. What 9,000 Microsoft Redundancies Say About the Tech Sector
Microsoft has announced 9,000 new redundancies across teams, with several tech giants balancing investments in AI development with workforce reductions
On Wednesday, 2 July 2025, Microsoft announced plans to lay off around 9,000 of its employees, representing nearly 4% of its global workforce of 228,000 people.
This is the largest round of redundancies Microsoft has announced since it laid off 10,000 employees in October 2023.
These losses come as the technology giant continues its substantial investment in AI infrastructure, whilst the company also seeks to reduce its operational costs.
The timing of the announcement is significant, coming at the start of Microsoft's 2026 fiscal year when executives typically ring organisational changes.
“We continue to implement organisational changes necessary to best position the company and teams for success in a dynamic marketplace,” a Microsoft spokesperson has confirmed.
The cuts will affect teams across several different countries and experience levels, with the company looking to reduce management layers between individual contributors and senior executives.
Microsoft had pledged US$80bn in capital spending for its fiscal year 2025, primarily focused on AI infrastructure development.
However, the soaring costs of scaling AI have applied pressure to the Washington-based company’s margins, with its June quarter cloud margin expected to shrink compared to 2024.
5. Can Anthropic or OpenAI Help Apple Catch Up in the AI Race?
Apple is in contact with OpenAI and Anthropic, makers of ChatGPT and Claude, to test new AI-driven versions of its Siri technology
In June, Apple held its flagship annual live event, the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), at its headquarters in Cupertino, California.
In years gone by, Apple has used the WWDC to announce the innovations that it has been working on. It was here that Steve Jobs first announced the launch of Safari, Apple’s own web browser.
But this year’s event felt a little underwhelming to some industry observers.
While other heavyweights in the tech sector have been announcing huge innovations in AI, Apple’s updates were limited to a new operating system and a new design language known as ‘Liquid Glass’.
However, that might be about to change.
This week, Bloomberg reported that Apple is actively exploring partnerships with firms like Anthropic and OpenAI with the aim of producing a reimagined version of Siri.
Siri, launched in 2011, has increasingly fallen behind competitors like Google Assistant and Amazon’s Alexa in terms of conversational ability and query handling.
So while this move could result in a huge boost for Apple’s voice-powered virtual assistant, it also comes with an acknowledgement that Apple is struggling to keep pace with its rivals in the AI economy.
