EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Mindstream Energy is building a 400 MW off-grid data center city in Jordan, set to become the largest in the country. In an exclusive interview from IMPACT 250 x @armada_ai Sovereign AI Summit, Mindstream detailed the strategy behind the Al-Risha campus, combining modular compute, modular generators powered by locally sourced natural gas, and modular facilities for housing, healthcare, training, and other on-site needs. Mindstream plans to launch with an initial 70 MW as it works with hyperscalers, neoclouds and other potential offtakers. The site is also being built around redundant fiber and subsea connectivity, positioning Jordan as a potential regional compute hub. One of the most interesting long-term angles is bringing compute closer to reconstruction efforts in countries such as Syria and Iraq without relying on their local power grids.

AMERICA SWITCHES ON ENHANCED GEOTHERMAL Hard Tech Headlines:  - @fervoenergy has brought the world’s first greenfield enhanced geothermal development into commercial operation in Utah. Cape Station’s first 33 MW power block is now producing 24/7 power and generating revenue. Phase I will scale to approximately 100 MW, with another 400 MW already under construction. - Anduril is deploying Lattice to become the common operating picture for the detection, tracking, and response to port security threats. Autonomous aircraft, surface vessels, weather stations, acoustic sensors, buoys, and undersea vehicles were all successfully integrated into Lattice. Additionally, @regentcraft used Anduril’s Lattice to directly task and control its Squire autonomous seaglider during the demonstration. - The DoW Critical Technologies Office has announced a partnership with In-Q-Tel focused on scouting and conducting technical due diligence across biomanufacturing, AI, contested logistics, quantum computing, directed energy, and hypersonics. - @Nord_Space has become the first Canadian launch company to operate hardware in orbit following the successful launch of its Terra Nova satellite. - The DOE is deploying a ground-based wheeled robot for critical cleanup operations at Los Alamos National Laboratory. - @nandux_mining, the El Segundo and Chile-based mining technology firm, has begun site prep with Carpala Minerals for an upcoming copper drilling campaign in Chile’s Atacama region. NanduX develops quantum sensing technology to map subsurface mineral deposits. - Anduril has acquired Popoto Modem, which develops underwater acoustic communications technology that enables multi-node mesh networking, allowing autonomous undersea systems to communicate with one another. - @KGHM_SA, the Polish mining firm, in partnership with @South_32, has begun a $725 million expansion of the Sierra Gorda copper-molybdenum mine in Chile. - NASA is developing humanoid robots internally for potential human manipulation tasks during lunar operations, such as logistics and inspections. - @Gradiant_Corp has secured $300M in contracts from semiconductor companies. The company develops ultrapure water and wastewater treatment systems for chip fabs, enabling them to recycle process water, reduce freshwater use, and support higher-volume semiconductor manufacturing. - @RoshelDefence acquired Centigon, the nearly 80-year-old armored vehicle manufacturer with operations across France, Mexico, and Colombia. - The DOE is deploying a ground-based wheeled robot for critical cleanup operations at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The robot was developed by NuHorizon Technologies, building on technology from Georgia Tech. NuHorizon is a U.S. robotic inspection company. - The @USArmy is now exploring the use of humanoid robots for military applications. More below in our headlines breakdown.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Inside the startup building the world’s first commercial fleet of crewed submarines to support the U.S. Military. Maritime Operations Group is aiming to augment the U.S. Navy as America’s fast-attack submarine fleet has declined from more than 90 to roughly 48. With fewer nuclear submarines available, the Navy must use costly submarine hours for training, testing, and adversary exercises in addition to real-world missions. MOG plans to fill that gap with commercially operated diesel-electric submarines for red teaming, acting as enemy submarines during training, alongside special operations support and undersea R&D. The company announced exclusively to Atoms Not Bits that it is in the process of acquiring its first submarine.

Contested Autonomy Category Owner: VICTUS (@getvictusai) Atoms Not Bits believes the future is autonomous, but with that comes one critical gap around jamming and operating in denied environments. Our audience covers the most critical American and allied nation companies building everything from drones and ground vehicles to unmanned ships, satellites, and aircraft. VICTUS has built software that enables autonomous systems to continue navigating when GPS is denied and vision is degraded. These systems need to know where they are and what is around them. When GPS is jammed, spoofed, or unavailable and vision starts to break down, autonomy gets a lot harder. That is why Atoms Not Bits has chosen VICTUS as a sponsor. VICTUS will sponsor our coverage of contested autonomy as we research the companies and technologies defining the space, the current state of operating in denied environments, where the technology is going, and how it could shape geopolitics in the years ahead.

BREAKING: Anduril’s Lattice has successfully tasked an autonomous seaglider during a live maritime demonstration. @regentcraft controlled its Squire autonomous seaglider by routing tasking directly through Lattice, extending Anduril’s software into a new class of vehicle. @anduriltech is positioning Lattice as a common operating picture for the detection, tracking, and response to port security threats. Autonomous aircraft, surface vessels, undersea vehicles, acoustic sensors, buoys, and weather stations were all successfully integrated into Lattice during BlueTIDE 2026.

Private Equity Enters Hard Tech En Masse Hard Tech Headlines: - @TiberiusInc secured a $500M U.S.-U.K. technology collaboration contract to scale its ramjet-powered 155mm precision-guided munition. Tiberius aims to enable allied nations to scale their own production capacity using its technology. - @DIU_x and the U.S. Navy selected BeeX, BlackSea Technologies, and @vatnsystems as winners of a challenge to detect and neutralize underwater mines using autonomous underwater systems. - Autonomous Solutions, Inc., the large-scale autonomous robotics company, has partnered with SoftBank to build out robotics for the construction industry, with a focus on civil construction projects and material handling. SoftBank also deployed $225M into the company. - South Korea has committed up to $120B to support the deployment of eight large nuclear reactors on U.S. federal sites, including two Korean APR1400 reactors. Korea would also take a 5–10% equity stake in Westinghouse. - Blackstone, the large private equity firm, has launched Falcata, a new defense tech company focused on interceptor technologies designed to counter aerial threats and scale U.S. interceptor production. - @iceye_global has secured a partnership with @nokia to develop European sovereign satellite communications systems for defense, border security, and emergency response, with the first satellites expected to launch in 2028. - @extropic, in partnership with Prime Intellect, has begun training AI agents for thermodynamic computing research, with early results showing nearly 3x improvement on held-out research tasks. - Colmez has launched out of stealth, backed by a16z Speedrun, automating workflows across America’s $248B hazardous waste industry. The startup is already working with 5 of the top 7 operators in the industry. - Virtus Minerals has begun mining operations at the first major American-owned mining project in the Congo in more than a decade, focused on copper and cobalt production. - Foundry Management has launched as a joint venture between a16z and Atlas Holdings, the $16B+ industrial PE firm, to embed technologists inside major industrial companies and potentially spin out startups based on real-world problems. - @AaloAtomics, the modular nuclear startup, deployed Revel for reactor simulation and controls, cutting programming work on its liquid-sodium cooling test system from two months to two days, a key step in validating how its reactor cooling and control systems perform before full operation. - The United Kingdom has successfully launched a torpedo from an unmanned submarine. - SIDUS Solutions has partnered with VSM Associates to deploy shipyard surveillance and situational awareness above and below the waterline using cameras, lasers, and precision positioning hardware. - Lucid Bots has launched a new product enabling window-cleaning drones to reach taller skyscrapers by supporting their cleaning hose with a rooftop pulley system. - OSCP, a Canadian navigation startup, has raised a Series A round with the amount undisclosed. The company develops navigation technology for GPS-denied environments, targeting drones, rail, robotics, maritime, and space applications. - KULR secured $1M+ in battery orders supporting the DoW’s Drone Dominance Program. - @AntaresNuclear has secured an agreement with @generalmatter, under which the Founders Fund-backed startup will provide uranium enrichment services for Antares’ deployable advanced nuclear reactors targeting defense customers. Antares now has three enrichment agreements in place with General Matter, Urenco, and Centrus, securing enough initial feedstock to support its first reactor deployments. - @anybotics, the Swiss robotics startup, has launched Shift, which enables the management of large-scale robotic fleets, including status, battery level, and position tracking, while supporting multi-mission robotic inspection for industrial applications. - @supra_elemental, the Austin, Texas startup, has secured a Phase I SBIR from the Defense Logistics Agency focused on using chemical separation to recover high-purity scandium from industrial feedstocks. Scandium is a critical mineral used across hard tech.

BREAKING: Palantir is taking sovereign AI off-grid. Armada has secured a deal to become @PalantirTech inaugural Certified Modular Data Center Partner, enabling its AI stack to run on-grid, off-grid, and fully air-gapped. @armada_ai has already deployed its modular data centers on a U.S. Navy warship, for offshore drilling operations, and across remote operations in Alaska.

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