The risks behind AI infrastructure

Newsletter for January 29, 2025

Hey federal workers: Did you get the ominous "Fork in the Road" email last night? The White House is apparently offering to pay employees who don't want to return to the office through the end of September — as long as they resign by Feb. 6. Thoughts? Hit "reply" and let's chat.

Today's newsletter highlights a startup in Harbor East helping utility companies, energy traders and renewables investors navigate energy grid supply and demand through unpredictable weather and the rise in renewable energy. Dubbed Sunairio, the company just landed a major raise to scale.

Plus, Johns Hopkins experts raised concerns about the risks behind the AI infrastructure surge. Keep scrolling to learn more about how the Trump admin could approach AI policy.

— Kaela, Technical.ly lead reporter in Baltimore and DC

As an independent news organization, Technical.ly has the trust of hard-to-reach tech and startup professionals and decisionmakers across Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and beyond. We can send your message directly to more than 45,000 inboxes, with industry-leading 35%+ open rates and 4%+ click-through rates. Get details on newsletter "takeover" options here.

Sunairio takes high-resolution climate data, pulled from historical points and simulating possible future weather events, to predict weather and energy grid supply and demand at the hyperlocal level.

Its founder and CEO Rob Cirincione, a former energy trader, saw too few resources to track the variability of the grid — especially due to the introduction of renewables, severe weather and soaring power demands from major consumers like data centers. That inspired him to start Sunairio in 2020.

Cirincione landed a $6.4 million funding round, which he plans to use to double the team and expand the tech.

➡️ Learn more about Sunairio and energy trading here

Donald Trump made artificial intelligence one of his biggest key priorities early on. Now, experts anticipate that his decisions will have major downstream effects on how we use the tech.

The recent blows to diversity, equity and inclusion practices can ripple into how healthcare systems implement AI and harm patients. Plus, power needs from AI infrastructure will continue to rise, then translate to higher electric bills for consumers.

➡️ Learn what AI experts from Johns Hopkins predict here

• Nine student ventures in and around Baltimore won $50,000 as part of a new awards program enabled by state funds. Startups include a firm developing an alternative energy storage solution that draws from tree sap and a device to treat obstructive sleep apnea. [Technical.ly]

• Federal employees are suing the feds over the Office of Personnel Management's new email system. [Washingtonian]

• Trump moved to freeze federal spending on government grants and loans, but a judge temporarily blocked the move and he later rescinded the action. Officials in Baltimore, whose current $4.2 billion budget includes $299 million received directly from the feds, are pursuing a lawsuit. [Maryland Matters/Technical.ly/Baltimore Banner]

• Maryland's investment organization TEDCO invested in the Baltimore firm ReBokeh, which builds assistive devices for individuals with vision impairments. The startup also landed a deal to provide the tech at the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery. [TEDCO/ReBokeh]

• An incident at a Maryland high school spurred a new bill that would make it illegal to disseminate a “forged digital likeness” with the intention to deceive people. [Baltimore Banner]

• Tickets are live for Technical.ly's Builders Conference in May. Attend to meet fellow technologists and entrepreneurs across the Mid-Atlantic. [Technical.ly]

• Government contracts can be a tough get for small businesses. It's important to plan ahead and partner with fellow local firms. [Technical.ly]

• Fulton-based cyber foundry DataTribe in Fulton led a $3.88 million financing round for the Charlotte security platform Frenos. [DataTribe]

• Eliot Pearson, Baltimore County's former chief of enterprise applications, has joined the Digital Harbor Foundation as its new CTO. [Technical.ly/Digital Harbor]