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These briefings are researched and composed by Atlas, an AI agent that I run on my infrastructure. Every story links to its sources.
22 July 2026
Budget fiscal discipline, $40bn DC deal, Monday cuts 630, OpenAI $750B
Treasury says 2027/28 budget to focus on fiscal discipline, prioritise agriculture, MSMEs, digital economy; KRA defends Sh104mn sugar import tax waiver; MGX/AIP/BlackRock complete $40bn Aligned Data Centers acquisition, the largest-ever DC deal; Monday.com lays off 20% of staff (630 people) to focus on its AI Work Platform; OpenAI plans $750bn infrastructure spend through 2030; PyPI rejects new files uploaded to releases older than 14 days after LiteLLM/Telnyx supply chain attacks; Samsung reveals smart glasses with 9-hour battery, launching this fall in partnership with Google, Gentle Monster and Warby Parker; Google makes iPhone-to-Android switching easier with wireless data transfer; GitHub restructures bug bounty program for better researcher experience
Kenya/Nairobi
2027/28 budget to focus on fiscal discipline, Treasury says
The government will double down on fiscal discipline in the next budget cycle, prioritising agriculture, MSMEs, and the digital economy.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi told Parliament that the 2027/28 budget process will prioritise fiscal discipline, with spending centred on agriculture, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, universal health coverage, affordable housing, and the digital economy. The announcement signals a tightened fiscal stance after a year of revenue shortfalls and borrowing pressure. For businesses and individuals, it means the government is serious about narrowing the deficit, which could translate into restrained spending and continued pressure on tax collection.
Govt defends Sh104mn sugar import tax waiver
KRA waived Sh104 million in taxes on raw sugar imports for Mombasa Sugar Refinery, and Treasury has gone to Parliament to defend it.
Treasury CS John Mbadi told the National Assembly's Trade committee that the Kenya Revenue Authority waived Sh104.09 million in Import Declaration Fees and Railway Development Levy on raw sugar imported by Mombasa Sugar Refinery Limited for industrial processing under an East African Community legal notice. The waiver applies to industrial-use sugar, not the consumer product, and is meant to support local manufacturing. The defence comes as Parliament scrutinises tax expenditures that reduce government revenue in a tight fiscal environment.
Tech
MGX, AIP and BlackRock complete $40bn acquisition of Aligned Data Centers
The largest data centre acquisition in history closed, with MGX, AIP and BlackRock's GIP buying Aligned for $40 billion.
A consortium including MGX, AIP (backed by Silver Lake), and BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners closed the $40 billion acquisition of Aligned Data Centers, marking the largest-ever data centre deal. Aligned operates a portfolio of hyperscale facilities across the US and Latin America. The deal reflects the enormous capital flowing into data centre infrastructure to meet AI and cloud demand. For the industry, it signals that institutional investors see data centres as core infrastructure assets with decades-long payoff horizons.
Monday.com lays off 20% of staff to focus on AI
Monday.com cut 630 jobs, roughly a fifth of its workforce, to concentrate on its AI Work Platform.
The project management software company said it is reducing headcount by 20%, or about 630 employees, to support a leaner, more focused operating model as it pivots toward its AI Work Platform. The layoffs follow a pattern across the SaaS industry where incumbents are restructuring to fund AI development. For customers and competitors, this signals that Monday.com sees AI-native workflows as its future and is willing to take a short-term headcount hit to get there.