Plus: Illinois just passed what could become America’s strongest AI safety law.May 28, 2026 This is today's edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. Climate tech companies are going public. What’s next? Solar and battery company Solv Energy went public in February, hitting a $6 billion valuation. X-energy, which builds small modular nuclear reactors, followed at $11.5 billion. Then came geothermal company Fervo Energy, reaching a market cap of about $12.4 billion. All three have been IPO success stories. And it doesn’t feel like a coincidence that they’re racing to provide electricity in an era of rising demand, driven partly by data centers. What does this boom reveal about the future of the grid? And what comes next? Read the full story to find out.
—Casey Crownhart This story is from The Spark, our weekly newsletter giving you the inside track on all things climate. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday.
The AI Hype Index Separating AI reality from hyped-up fiction isn’t always easy. That’s why we’ve created the AI Hype Index—a simple, at-a-glance summary of what’s shaping the industry right now. The latest edition includes billionaire road trips, students booing, made-up quotes, and too much sci-fi. See where it all landed on this month’s index. The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 Illinois just passed what could become America’s strongest AI safety lawIt would require third-party safety audits. (Wired $)+ But it still needs the governor’s approval. (NBC News)+ The US is divided over AI regulation. (MIT Technology Review) 2 A Google engineer has been charged with insider tradingHe allegedly bet on who’d be the most-searched people of 2025 on Polymarket. (BBC)+ And used internal data to rack up more than $1.2 million in winnings. (Verge)+ He’s been charged with fraud and money laundering over the bets. (NPR)3 ByteDance is developing custom CPUs amid a massive AI chip squeezeThe TikTok owner is struggling with severe supply shortages. (Reuters $)+ Google, Amazon, and Microsoft are also building custom CPUs. (CNBC)+ Taiwan’s “silicon shield” could be weakening. (MIT Technology Review) 4 Four tech giants have backed a clean energy push for AI data centersAmazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft have joined the initiative. (Quartz)+ Investor Elemental Impact will deploy up to $5 million per project. (Axios) 5 Nvidia’s CEO is joining the board of Beijing’s Tsinghua UniversityHis appointment comes as Nvidia struggles to export chips to China. (FT $)+ President Xi is an alumnus of Tsinghua, aka "China's Harvard.” (Reuters $)
