Microsoft Halts UK's Largest AI Datacentre Over Power Issues

Key Takeaways

• <ul><li>Microsoft pulled out of the Loughton, Essex AI datacentre project due to power supply problems</li><li>The project was planned as the UK's largest AI datacentre, led by British company Nscale</li><li>UK Power Networks refused to provide a quick fix for the electricity grid issue</li><li>Microsoft still has a separate datacentre project in Norway</li><li>Nscale remains committed to finding alternative power solutions for the Essex site</li></ul>

I tested ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini for a month to find my favorite

Shimul Sood tested ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini for a month to see which AI tool is best. She found ChatGPT the easiest to use because it understands follow-up questions well. Claude was her second choice for research and reasoning tasks. Gemini required more effort to get good results. All three tools offer different thinking or effort levels to adjust response quality.

Free open-source coding tool Pi beats Claude Code and Codex

Mahnoor Faisal found Pi, a free open-source coding agent, outperforms Claude Code, Codex, and Antigravity. Pi works from your terminal and starts with just four tools: read, write, edit, and bash. This keeps it simple and avoids cluttering the workspace with unused features. Users can install it through npm if they have Node.js. Pi also supports an extension system for adding custom functionality.

Microsoft pulls out of Essex AI datacentre over power concerns

Microsoft withdrew from a major AI datacentre project in Loughton, Essex due to power supply problems. The project was led by British company Nscale and was announced in 2025 as the UK's largest AI datacentre. UK Power Networks refused to give Nscale a quick fix for the electricity grid issue. Microsoft still has a separate datacentre project in Norway. Nscale remains committed to finding alternative power solutions for the Essex site.

WorkOS engineers demo tools to verify AI agents won't break production

WorkOS engineers demonstrated tools called Ryker and CTX to ensure AI agents do not damage live systems. Nick Nisi showed Ryker, which demands proof of work through deterministic checks. Zack Proser presented CTX, a web service that verifies code health through the WorkOS platform. They highlighted that screenshots alone do not prove data was saved correctly. The team emphasized shipping baseline evaluations that update with every code change.

Intuit acquires AI revenue platform Sequence to boost ERP tools

Intuit announced it will acquire Sequence, an AI-native revenue management platform founded in 2021. The deal strengthens Intuit Enterprise Suite and QuickBooks Online Advanced for mid-market businesses. Sequence uses AI to automate quote-to-revenue tasks like pricing, billing, invoicing, and revenue recognition. Sequence CEO Riya Grover will join Intuit's Mid-Market product organization after the acquisition. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Google and AdaniConneX plan air-cooled data centres in Vizag

AdaniConneX and Google plan three air-cooled data centre campuses in Visakhapatnam with about 1 gigawatt capacity. The project involves a $15 billion USD investment and aims to keep freshwater use very low. Construction began on 28 April this year. The data centres could help Vizag become a major AI hub and are expected to generate ₹10,000 Crore for Andhra Pradesh.

Clockwork shows AI training jobs survive GPU server failures

At the 70th IT Press Tour, Clockwork demonstrated that its platform lets AI training jobs continue after a GPU server loses power. The demo stopped a job at step 5,040 and it resumed on a different machine about a minute later with no recomputed work. Clockwork, formerly TickTock Networks, started in 2018 and its FleetIQ platform became generally available in September 2025. The company's technology focuses on precise timing across GPU clusters used for AI computing.

Microsoft ends British AI data centre agreement with Enscale

Microsoft terminated its agreement with British cloud company Enscale for a data center project in Loughton, Essex. The company did not explain why it withdrew from the project. Microsoft is one of Enscale's two largest clients. The termination does not appear to signal a broader change in Microsoft's plans for data centre and AI investments internationally.

Optiq Data's Civiq platform uses AI in California campaigns

Cole Patterson, co-founder of Optiq Data, discussed how political campaigns in California use AI through the Civiq platform. Civiq, launched in February 2026, combines campaign finance, election, and voter data into one system. About 450 million of 700 million voter contacts this cycle were generated using AI. Patterson reported over half a million ballots returned statewide with about 23 million registered voters in California.

Anthropic hires lawyers for AI agent negotiation rules

Anthropic is working with a law firm to create a framework allowing its AI agents to negotiate with humans. The company wants to ensure AI agents act fairly and transparently when making deals. Other tech companies like Google and Microsoft are also developing similar frameworks. This reflects the growing need to address ethical concerns as AI becomes more common in business.

Sources

• I tested ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini side by side for a month — here's which one I actually use
• This free, open-source tool beats Claude Code, Codex, and Antigravity at their own game, and I'm not looking back
• Microsoft drops huge AI datacentre project in Essex over power supply concerns
• WorkOS engineers want agents to prove they won't delete production
• Intuit Bets on AI-Powered Revenue Automation with Sequence Acquisition
• Google, AdaniConneX's data centres to use air cooling: How this project could transform Vizag into a global AI hub
• 70th IT Press Tour: Clockwork pulled the power on a live AI training job, and it carried on from the same step
• Microsoft withdraws from artificial intelligence data center project in Britain
• Early ballots and how campaigns are using AI with Optiq Data Co-Founder Cole Patterson
• Anthropic turns to lawyers to help AI agents strike deals