Physical AI & Infrastructure Boom

Physical AI and infrastructure funding exploded to $47.4B in H1 2026, nearly 4x H2 2025. AI chip inference battle heats up: Etched $700M at $21B, Fractile $600M at $6.5B with Anthropic deal. Velaura AI $110M for ultra-low-power compute. Europe data centres shift to remote locations for cheaper power. Power-efficiency and chip design are key battlegrounds.