This Month's Latest Tech News in Albuquerque, NM - Wednesday April 30th 2025 Edition

Albuquerque is positioning itself at the forefront of urban AI innovation in 2025, with collaborative momentum from research institutions and city leaders driving real-world technological advances.

The inaugural New Mexico Artificial Intelligence Consortium Industry Collaboration Day exemplifies this synergy, uniting Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories, local universities, and industry under a mission to cement the state's leadership in AI research, workforce development, and infrastructure.

On city streets, Albuquerque is rolling out the first-of-its-kind AI-powered Pedestrian Activated Warning System (PAWS) along Central Avenue, using real-time detection to alert drivers when someone is about to cross the road - a crucial step for pedestrian safety in high-risk areas (learn more about the AI-powered Pedestrian Activated Warning System).

This deployment comes as residents voice hopes for inclusive and accountable tech-driven public safety solutions during local council meetings (read community perspectives on civil rights and community safety concerns).

The city's forward-thinking AI ecosystem is matched by a robust foundation of tech talent: Nucamp offers accessible coding and cybersecurity bootcamps and scholarships to upskill New Mexicans for the digital jobs of tomorrow.

Albuquerque is piloting an AI-powered pedestrian safety solution at the high-risk intersection of Central Avenue and Louisiana Boulevard, debuting what city officials describe as a first-of-its-kind initiative in the U.S. The Pedestrian Activated Warning System (PAWS) uses advanced cameras trained to distinguish actual pedestrian crossings, triggering yellow flashing lights to alert drivers in real time and covering several hundred feet, including both marked crosswalks and common jaywalking spots.

Inspired by wildlife detection systems, this technology has been meticulously trained to recognize pedestrian movements in every direction and focuses on immediate detection without recording or storing footage, alleviating privacy concerns.

According to Dan Mayfield of the Department of Municipal Development,

“We've spent several months training the cameras to recognize when people aren't just walking on the sidewalk, but when they're actually about to cross the street... These cameras are not for recording, just for responding to activity in real time.”

Recognizing the intersection's history as one of the city's most dangerous, the city hopes the system - scheduled to go live in early May 2025 - will reduce accidents and save lives.

For further details on AI camera operations and privacy, visit AI cameras to improve pedestrian safety in Albuquerque, learn about the PAWS system's unique features at City of Albuquerque turns to AI to help warn drivers of pedestrians on Central Avenue, or watch the news coverage via New AI technology to keep pedestrians safe in Albuquerque.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced a major initiative to accelerate AI innovation by opening 16 federal sites - including Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico - for data center development.

These sites are “uniquely positioned for rapid data center construction” with in-place energy infrastructure and the ability to expedite permitting for new generation, such as nuclear and renewable power, aligning with national policy priorities set by recent executive orders from both the Biden and Trump administrations AP News: DOE invites AI data centers at Los Alamos & other labs.

The DOE's Request for Information seeks public and industry input on designs, operational models, and co-location with energy sources, aiming to have these centers operational by the end of 2027 Federal Register: Official DOE RFI on AI Infrastructure.

This move comes as the energy demand by data centers - driven by the rise of AI - has tripled in the last decade and could reach 12% of the nation's electricity consumption by 2028, prompting a push for sustainable, energy-efficient solutions alongside robust collaboration with local communities and tribes Renewable Energy World: DOE plans for co-located AI data centers and power generation.

Site	State	Power (Potential/Planned)	Size (Acres)
Los Alamos National Laboratory	NM	Up to 100 MW; expansion to 160 MW by 2030s	~40
Sandia National Laboratories	NM	Existing infrastructure; potential for expansion	~9 (each site)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory	TN	Near hydro, nuclear, SMR projects	100 (near-term development)

“The United States has long been at the forefront of artificial intelligence innovation. Maintaining that leadership is a key national and economic security priority.”

As Microsoft marks its 50th anniversary - a journey that began in a humble Albuquerque garage - AI-powered innovation stands central to its vision for the future.

At a recent celebratory event, all three Microsoft CEOs reunited alongside technology leaders to unveil the next evolution of Copilot, the company's flagship generative AI assistant now capable of visual recognition and personalized user experiences.

In reflecting on this new era, Bill Gates remarked,

“Now, the frontier is intelligence, so it's incredible to see in the demos that we got today how we're on the verge of something even more profound than what came for those first 50 years.”

Microsoft's achievements and challenges were on full display, with recent financials revealing nearly $3 trillion in market value and $13 billion in annualized AI revenue, though regulatory hurdles and changing market demands remain persistent concerns.

Recent highlights include the release of hundreds of Copilot-centered feature updates for the Dynamics 365 and Power Platform suites, while the company emphasized its dual strategies of partnership with OpenAI and in-house AI model development.

The enduring role of the user and developer community - fostered over decades through programs like MSDN and MVP awards - remains a bedrock for Microsoft's collaborative growth.

For a detailed breakdown, see the table below:

Milestone	Year/Event	Notes
Company founded	April 4, 1975	Albuquerque, NM garage
Current market value	2025	~$3 trillion
Annual AI revenue	2025	$13 billion
Copilot visual AI demo	April 4, 2025	Camera-based recognition and personalized interactions

To explore the recent Copilot updates and event highlights, read the complete recap of Microsoft's 50th Anniversary Copilot Event.

For in-depth insight into Microsoft's evolving AI-first strategy and executive perspectives, visit Emerging Tech Brew's interview on Microsoft's AI future.

Discover how community has fueled Microsoft's innovation story from Albuquerque to today in this feature on the importance of the Microsoft Community.

Microsoft reported robust third-quarter results for fiscal 2025, fueled by an 18% jump in net income and substantial gains from its AI-driven cloud portfolio.

The company's Intelligent Cloud segment, which houses Azure, soared 21% year-over-year to $26.75 billion in revenue, as Azure alone surged by 33% - with nearly half that growth attributed to AI services.

In a move highlighting the scale of AI demand, Microsoft announced plans to spend $80 billion on infrastructure this fiscal year, with executives cautioning of potential AI capacity constraints beyond June.

CFO Amy Hood emphasized, "Microsoft Cloud revenue reached $42.4 billion, up 20%, driven by demand for differentiated offerings." CEO Satya Nadella added,

"Cloud and AI are essential for business expansion, cost reduction, and growth acceleration. We innovate across the stack to deliver for customers."

The table below summarizes Microsoft's key segment performance for the quarter:

Segment	Q3 2025 Revenue	Year-Over-Year Change
Intelligent Cloud	$26.75B	+21%
Productivity & Business Processes	$29.94B	+10%
More Personal Computing	$13.37B	+6%

These results, which exceeded Wall Street expectations, sent Microsoft shares up to 9% in after-hours trading.

For in-depth financial details and executive insights, visit the official Microsoft Q3 FY25 earnings page, explore coverage on CNBC's earnings report analysis, or read Investopedia's feature on Microsoft's cloud and AI strength driving growth.

Federal policy is rapidly accelerating the development of AI infrastructure in New Mexico, as the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) designates Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories among 16 prime federal sites for AI data center construction.

This initiative leverages both existing power grids and fast-tracked permitting for new energy generation - including nuclear, solar, and geothermal - to address a surging demand in computational resources for AI technologies.

A recent DOE report notes that U.S. data center electricity consumption has tripled in the past decade, with projections indicating it could reach up to 12% of total national usage by 2028.

The Biden administration set the groundwork with an executive order to remove barriers for such developments, while the Trump administration has maintained and expanded this approach, emphasizing American leadership in AI as essential to economic and national security.

As DOE seeks public and industry input on energy, environmental, and operational dimensions, the agency underscores the importance of local and Tribal engagement, with a target to commence construction by late 2025 and begin operations by 2027.

As reported by KRWG, these sites are uniquely positioned for swift development.

For a complete breakdown of candidate laboratories and their capabilities, see this in-depth analysis from Data Center Dynamics.

As the DOE explained in its official Request for Information,

“the United States has long been at the forefront of artificial intelligence innovation. Maintaining that leadership is a key national and economic security priority”

(Federal Register).

Albuquerque is taking a pioneering step in urban safety with the rollout of the Pedestrian Activated Warning System (PAWS), an artificial intelligence-powered network designed to protect those crossing Central Avenue at Louisiana Boulevard, a notorious hotspot for pedestrian incidents.

The PAWS system uses AI cameras that have been specially trained to detect when individuals are about to cross the street - activating prominent yellow warning lights in real time while preserving privacy by not storing footage, a strategy inspired by wildlife detection systems previously used to alert drivers to deer and elk crossings.

This initiative, slated for activation in early May, is part of Albuquerque's broader vision to combat pedestrian fatalities, which mirrors a growing national trend where cities leverage AI, data-driven analytics, and smart infrastructure to proactively safeguard commuters.

For context, leading cities now report significant safety gains through various approaches - data from Urban SDK's report on road safety technologies adopted by U.S. cities in 2025 highlights outcomes like a 14% reduction in crashes in New York City following large-scale speed camera deployments and a 50% drop in pedestrian crashes in Philadelphia.

Albuquerque's PAWS stands out as one of the first U.S. applications of AI-powered wildlife detection tech for pedestrian protection - a testament to the city's determination to innovate for public safety.

According to KOAT News coverage on AI cameras improving pedestrian safety in Albuquerque, jaywalking and prior accidents underscore the urgency behind this measure.

As AI-driven safety systems like PAWS evolve, their impact joins a national movement toward smarter, more responsive infrastructure. For more details on the PAWS launch and local perspectives, visit KRQE News report on Albuquerque's AI pedestrian safety initiative.

The surging energy appetite of AI data centers is reshaping both the tech sector and local economies, placing New Mexico's national labs in the spotlight. Forecasts suggest global data center power consumption will double within five years, largely because of advanced AI models, with the International Energy Agency reporting that by 2030, data centers could use 945 TWh annually - triple the electricity consumed by the entire UK and rivaling the energy demands of heavy manufacturing in the U.S. (IEA electricity demand forecast for data centers).

In fact, AI accelerators alone may account for 1.5% of global electricity between 2025 and 2029 - a staggering 2,318 TWh - prompting cloud giants and government labs, such as Los Alamos and Sandia, to invest in energy-saving technologies like chip-level liquid cooling and expanded renewable energy sources (Generative AI power use and sustainability strategies).

Local lawmakers and utility regulators express concern that unchecked data center growth may trigger steep hikes in consumer electricity bills and strain public infrastructure, highlighting the need for policies that equitably balance innovation, economic benefit, and sustainable power generation (Lawmakers on AI data centers and consumer impact).

“AI is one of the biggest stories in the energy world today.” - Fatih Birol, IEA Executive Director

See the table below for key energy demand metrics:

Metric	Value
2024 Meta Capex	$38 billion
2025 Microsoft & Google Capex	~$80 billion each
Estimated U.S. data center load (by 2030)	30–100 GW (likely >50 GW)
Data centers as % of U.S. power demand (2030)	Up to 10%

As New Mexico positions itself at the cutting edge of AI and clean technology, managing the power challenge will be crucial to securing both a sustainable and prosperous digital future.

Albuquerque is taking the lead in urban AI-powered road safety with the rollout of the Pedestrian Activated Warning System (PAWS) at the busy intersection of Central Avenue and Louisiana Boulevard, an area noted for frequent jaywalking and pedestrian accidents.

This pilot initiative leverages artificial intelligence cameras - adapted from wildlife detection technologies - to identify when pedestrians are about to cross the street, activating yellow flashing lights to alert oncoming drivers in real time.

According to Dan Mayfield, spokesperson for the Department of Municipal Development,

"So rather than just going off when there's a deer in the area, we were able to train the cameras to know when pedestrians are crossing the street. These cameras are not for recording, just for responding to activity in real time."

Data privacy is core to the project, ensuring that no footage is stored.

The table below highlights key facts about the deployment:

Feature	Details
Location	Central Ave & Louisiana Blvd
Coverage Area	~700 feet of intersection
Alert Mechanism	Yellow flashing lights
Data Storage	No footage saved
Status	Pilot only; no immediate expansion plans

Albuquerque may be the first city in the U.S. to deploy this kind of AI system for pedestrian safety, aiming to reduce vehicle-pedestrian collisions and enhance awareness where it is needed most.

Learn more about this urban safety breakthrough in coverage from KOAT 7's report on AI cameras improving pedestrian safety on Albuquerque roads, the detailed system overview at KRQE News 13's analysis of Albuquerque's AI pedestrian safety system, and further analysis in KOAT's technology update on AI pedestrian safety technology.

Microsoft has unveiled the Majorana 1 quantum chip, a palm-sized breakthrough poised to redefine the future of computing with its unique Topological Core architecture and use of exotic topoconductors - a new class of material enabling stable, scalable quantum computation as detailed in Cloud Computing News.

Unlike traditional quantum machines filling entire rooms, Majorana 1 is engineered to support up to one million robust topological qubits on a single chip, achieved through engineering feats such as combining indium arsenide and aluminum down to the atomic level.

By harnessing Majorana Zero Modes, the chip promises digital, error-resistant control, making quantum computing more practical and accessible for real-world tasks - including real-time avionics analytics and potential breakthroughs in materials science, agriculture, and medicine.

As explained by Chetan Nayak, Microsoft technical fellow,

“We took a step back and said, ‘OK, let's invent the transistor for the quantum age. What properties does it need to have?'”

For aviation and beyond, the topological quantum approach could deliver exponential parallel processing power, unbreakable quantum security, and genuine real-time diagnostics as explored by Aircraft Value News.

The chip's digital control also sets a new standard for ease of operation, swapping traditional analog fine-tuning for practical on/off switching. In partnership with Quantinuum, Atom Computing, and through the Azure Quantum platform, Microsoft is accelerating access to this technology for industry, enterprise, and research according to Microsoft's official announcement.

This leap moves Albuquerque and the world closer to everyday quantum-powered solutions, marking a pivotal chapter in the era of advanced computation.

Tech giants are intensifying their focus on New Mexico's renowned national labs, such as Los Alamos and Sandia, as part of a nationwide race to enable the next leap in artificial intelligence infrastructure.

The federal government has identified 16 high-impact sites - including both Albuquerque's Sandia National Laboratories and nearby Los Alamos - where companies like Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Meta can accelerate massive data center and energy projects, a move seen as a strategic response to mounting pressures on power, water, and fiber resources.

As Microsoft alone plans to invest approximately $80 billion in U.S. AI-enabled datacenters and the sector continues to command hundreds of billions in fresh capital, the government's initiative aligns with a broader surge in mega data center construction across the nation.

Despite recent “strategic pauses” in select projects, analysts remain optimistic about sustained long-term demand. As one executive noted,

“No retreat from demand, just strategic reallocation,”

underlining that these investments are essential to securing America's global AI competitiveness.

The outlook through 2030 expects rapid market growth - but also new challenges from tariffs and supply chain constraints. For a detailed look at key players and their current initiatives, see the comparison table below:

Company	Major Project/Location	Investment	Focus
Microsoft	Nationwide (incl. NM)	$80B (2025)	AI datacenter infrastructure
Amazon Web Services	Global Cloud Expansion	Included in $320B industry spend	AI and cloud services
Google	U.S., Europe	$600M–$1B per facility	AI with renewable energy

Explore more about the AI data center market's resilience amid strategic pauses, the federal efforts to open national labs for data infrastructure, and how mega data center construction is shaping the next decade of cloud and AI innovation.

As April 2025 comes to a close, Albuquerque stands uniquely positioned at the intersection of AI innovation and urban safety, with strategic developments echoing across technology, energy, and education sectors.

The U.S. Department of Energy's announcement designating Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories as potential AI data center sites underscores the region's status in the global race for AI - aptly called by Energy Secretary Chris Wright,

"the next Manhattan project."

This national initiative not only brings advanced infrastructure but fuels local opportunities for collaboration and workforce development, as outlined in the DOE's broad Request for Information on Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure covering issues from energy innovation to partnerships with tribal and community stakeholders.

A summary of the 16 candidate sites, including Los Alamos and Sandia, is provided below:

National Lab / Site	Location	AI Data Center Potential
Los Alamos National Laboratory	Los Alamos, NM	~40 acres, up to 100MW, advanced cooling and power capability
Sandia National Laboratories	Albuquerque, NM	Multiple secure sites, 9 acres+, on Air Force Base for added security
Other DOE Labs	Nationwide	Varied land and research assets

Coupled with this, Albuquerque's thriving aerospace and renewable energy sectors are drawing significant investments and new jobs, making the city “a premier destination for investment in aerospace and aviation operations” - a sentiment echoed at this month's Space Symposium (learn more about Albuquerque economic advantages).

Whether you're preparing to seize new opportunities in cybersecurity, software engineering, or data analytics, Nucamp's flexible bootcamps and scholarships make upskilling accessible for all.

As Albuquerque advances at the crossroads of innovation, education, and economic growth, it's never been a better time to get involved or get skilled for the future.