Bobby Allen

Bobby Allen, NPR News.

While the AI data center boom has been a gold rush for the construction industry, it has many financial analysts worried.

A recent note from Deutsche Bank analysts said if not for AI data center spending, the U.S.

would be close to a recession.

And big tech spenders like Meta, Google, and Oracle, which the industry calls hyperscalers, keep pouring money in.

More than a trillion dollars is expected to be spent on this infrastructure for more computing power in the coming years, but the arrangements are raising red flags.

For instance, more than $100 billion worth of data center deals are being done through special purpose vehicles, which keeps the spending off tech companies' balance sheets.

The same mechanism was used in the lead-up to the dot-com bubble.

Bobby Allen, NPR News.

In internal memos reviewed by NPR that Apple and Google recently sent to employees, the message is clear.

If you're on a visa and can avoid leaving the country, you should do that.

And that's because of reports that some visa holders are having renewal appointments canceled, leaving them stuck in their home countries for months.

The Trump administration's recently increased vetting for visa applications includes a review of up to five years of an applicant's social media history.

That has caused long delays and cancellations over what used to be routine visa appointments.

Apple and Google, which together employ more than 300,000 people, both rely heavily on highly skilled foreign-born workers.

The companies and the White House declined to comment.

Bobby Allen, NPR News.

After more than five years of intense debate, TikTok's U.S.

operations have been sold to a consortium of investors.

That group includes software and data center company Oracle, private equity firm Silverlake, and MGC, an investment company backed by the United Arab Emirates.