Samsung Electronics began sampling its latest high bandwidth memory (HBM) units among selected customers, a chip it asserted helps maximise computing performance for large language models (LLMs) and next-generation AI systems.

Claiming an industry first with the 12-layer HBM4E unit, the company noted the release followed mass production and commercial shipment of its HBM4 earlier this year.

The latest release is said to achieve transfer speeds of up to 16Gb/s with improved energy efficiency and thermal performance.

Samsung head of memory development Sang Joon Hwang said the company had “once again demonstrated its distinct technological edge with HBM4E”.

“Through our advanced manufacturing capabilities and pre-emptive infrastructure investments, we will continue to drive the growth of the global AI memory market.”

Samsung noted the chip “delivers a stable pin speed of 14Gb/s”, a 20% increase over the HBM4. The rate of the latest product can be scaled up to 16Gb/s “to support increasingly intensive data processing requirements,” it added.

The company added its “comprehensive portfolio spanning memory, foundry, logic design and advanced packaging” meant it would be able to “continue to ensure a stable semiconductor supply for the booming AI market”.

Along with peers, Samsung has been reaping the rewards of high demand and associated price rises for memory chips driven by global demand for AI systems.

Samsung booked record quarterly sales for its memory business in Q1, attributed to addressing “high-value-added AI demand despite limited supply availability”.

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Anthropic raised $65 billion in its latest funding round, taking its valuation to $965 billion as investor money continues to pour into big name AI companies.

Financial Times reported Anthropic’s valuation overtook OpenAI’s following the round.

Anthropic plans to use the latest funds to advance “safety and interpretability research, expand compute to meet growing demand” for AI assistant Claude “and scale the products and partnerships our customers rely on”.

The financing was led by Altimeter Capital, Dragoneer, Greenoaks and Sequoia Capital. Other investors include private equity funds and the company’s partners. The $65 billion includes $15 billion in previously-committed cash from so-called hyperscale companies.  

Micron Technology, Samsung and SK Hynix, which Anthropic describes as “strategic infrastructure partners”, were also among the lengthy list of backers.

Cash
As with peers in the AI boom, the company is no stranger to funding rounds amounting to multiple billions of dollars.

In February, it raised $30 billion, which brought its valuation at the time to $380 billion.

Anthropic noted since that round, its Claude AI offering gained further traction with enterprises around the globe and across a range of industries, with its run-rate revenue crossing the $47 billion mark this month.

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T-Mobile US inked another big-name deal in the world of golf, with the United States Golf Association (USGA) adopting its 5G network to improve on-course decisions and enhance spectator experiences.

A multi-year partnership involves the USGA employing the operator’s technology to aid rulings during play, and deliver event connectivity and immersive experiences for its members.

It is the company’s latest swing at putting 5G front and centre in golf, having already struck a long-term partnership with the PGA Championship.

The operator stated the latest deal sets “a new standard at the sport’s biggest events, powering the action on the course and experience around it”.

Starting at the association’s US Women’s Open held in June, USGA officials will use a 5G network slice to gain faster access to what is going on in the course.

They will be able to assess video footage and communicate with colleagues in real-time, providing the means to deliver decisions from anywhere on the course and eliminating coverage dead zones.

Other uses for T-Mobile’s network technology include connecting ticket scanners, point of sale terminals and distributing media from content providers.

The arrangement is also to be used during the men’s open and other USGA national championships.

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Telefonica Tech and Google Cloud partnered on a product intended to meet the needs of Spanish public bodies and companies in highly regulated sectors with strict data sovereignty requirements.

The latest tie-up between the pair brings a joint service to market in Spain which allows information held in Google Cloud to be encrypted by keys generated and stored by Telefonica in its local infrastructure.

Having the keys generated and managed by an operator in Spain provides increased protection against unauthorised access from elsewhere in the world, Telefonica noted.

It added the Data Boundary model offered by the pair would provide verifiable controls over data protection and access, enabling compliance with digital sovereignty requirements.

Telefonica Tech CEO Sofia Collado said the offering would provide organisations with the means “to define precise data residency, access control and data protection policies through encryption keys generated and managed outside public cloud environments”.

Google Cloud country manager, Iberia, Isaac Hernandez added “there should be no conflict between Spain’s digital sovereignty and its economic competitiveness”.

“By combining our cutting-edge cloud capabilities with Telefonica’s local operational control and encryption management, we are empowering businesses and public administrations to innovate securely and confidently on their own terms.”

Google Cloud Data Boundary is offered across various global markets in partnership with companies in each country.

Telefonica noted it was selected as the tech giant’s “trusted partner for data sovereignty” in its home market.

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Financial Times (FT) reported UK authorities would oppose any move by Bharti Enterprises to increase its current shareholding of almost 25% in BT Group on technology sovereignty grounds, a prospect raised in the media last week.

The newspaper noted the stance on limiting influence from companies based overseas on the UK operator was due to its position in the country’s critical infrastructure, rather than anything specific to the Indian conglomerate.

Bharti taking its stake above 25% would require a regulatory review, while raising its holding to above 30% would require a full takeover offer to be made.

In its various statements since buying the bulk of its BT shareholding in 2024, Bharti has maintained it had no plans for a full takeover. The company also denied Reuters reports published last week (21 May) claiming it was mulling an increase in its existing share.

Quoting a “government figure” today (28 May), FT stated the position on foreign investment was due to the importance of resilience and sovereign capabilities in today’s world.

Among its business interests BT owns Openreach, the infrastructure business conducting a full fibre rollout alongside maintaining the country’s existing fixed network infrastructure.

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European Commission (EC) EVP Henna Virkkunen unveiled a proposal for the allocation of the 2GHz spectrum band for mobile satellite services, with the lion’s share set to be reserved for companies based in the European Union (EU).

Under the plan, the EC would allocate a third of the spectrum for government and critical communications use, with the remainder available for commercial applications including direct-to-device smartphone connectivity and IoT applications.

Virkkunen stated the segment used for critical communications and government agencies would be awarded to an operator within the EU which would be tasked with ensuring integration with IRIS2 infrastructure.

Half of the proportion available for commercial use would be reserved for providers based in the EU and the remainder open to bids from companies based anywhere.  

She noted earmarking allocations to local operators would “encourage the diversification of suppliers and incentivise” entry into the market.

The EC is planning an EU-level selection process for assignment of the spectrum to ensure regulatory consistency across the bloc and allow operators to provide cross-border services.

Licences currently active for the band were allocated on an EU-wide basis.

Critical
Virkkunen said the 2GHz band is foundational to providing “satellite and terrestrial connectivity directly to our mobile devices, ensuring that all areas in the EU, and namely those where terrestrial networks are unavailable, are equipped with voice and internet connectivity”.

Noting “large networks of low Earth orbit satellites are becoming the space version” or mobile towers, she added they also pave the way for 6G.

“In short, this band is absolutely vital for our citizens, businesses and governments alike,” she added, arguing the EC’s proposal would aid in aims to boost Europe’s competitiveness and security, along with embracing “new technological possibilities”.

Although opening the way for big name US operators including Starlink and Amazon Leo to grab allocations, the move to reserve a large proportion for EU-based entities fits with a recent push around technology sovereignty and attempts to bolster local companies.

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The US Space Force (USSF) handed SpaceX a $2.3 billion contract to deliver the backbone for a satellite communications network to connect a range of military platforms and sensors.

It stated the Space Data Network (SDN) backbone would use low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites to provide global connectivity to armed forces.

The USSF explained the SDN would function as “an integrated network, providing robust, resilient, high-capacity and low-latency data transport”.

SpaceX is required to deliver an operational prototype by the end of 2027.

USSF acting portfolio acquisition executive for space-based sensing and targeting Colonel Ryan Frazier said the backbone would use “the best of commercial innovation and delivers a strong foundation for the SDN mission”.

He explained the SDN itself “acts as a core communications layer” for USSF systems, providing continuous, secure connectivity. The backbone is to work alongside the US Space Development Agency’s transport layer to provide high throughput, low latency data backhaul.

The USSF stated its ultimate aim with the SDN programme is to “form a unified and open architecture to provide critical data transport for current and future Department of War missions”.

It noted it formed a consortium for industrial partners to help solve integration and architectural challenges associated with the programme.

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