This Month's Latest Tech News in Chesapeake, VA - Saturday May 31st 2025 Edition

Chesapeake, VA has seen a transformative month in tech and AI, poised between innovation and community debate. The city's Planning Commission recently recommended denying a proposal for its first major data center, a 350,000-square-foot hub geared toward AI and cloud computing, citing concerns from hundreds of residents over environmental impact, property values, and resource strain - a microcosm of Virginia's broader tension between rapid data center growth and community priorities (read the full news analysis on Chesapeake VA data center denial).

Meanwhile, Hampton Roads welcomed the $85 million Bon Secours Harbour View Medical Center, the region's first “smart hospital” integrating AI-enabled care systems for improved patient safety and data-driven clinical support; leaders call it “a place where technology, compassion, and community converge to deliver exceptional care” (see innovative AI-enabled hospital developments in Hampton Roads).

Regionally, Chesapeake's business landscape is shifting: Greenbrier Mall was acquired for $22.4 million, and businesses across Virginia are expanding, modernizing, or navigating workforce transitions, as chronicled in this month's business roundup (explore the Virginia business news roundup for May 2025).

As Chesapeake navigates these changes, aspiring tech professionals can equip themselves for the region's evolving landscape with focused education options like Nucamp's Solo AI Tech Entrepreneur bootcamp and specialized scholarships.

The U.S. Navy is rapidly advancing the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) across its Hampton Roads operations, with leaders emphasizing both everyday and high-stakes applications.

Admiral Daryl Caudle, Commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, noted, “There's probably some 60 different programs that I can say artificial intelligence is actually working in today in some mature way for the Navy,” and highlighted AI's impact on health, readiness, and complex decision-making in environments - from maintenance scheduling to threat identification in dynamic combat zones.

“Looking at trends with folks in their dental records, looking at trends with stuff in their medical records. All of this is prompting the need before we get on deployment.... so that we're not landing into this space when I'm actually on deployment,”

Caudle explained, referencing AI-driven predictive analytics for sailor health and deployment preparation.

The Navy's collaboration with the Defense Innovation Unit - under the Situational Awareness by Intelligent Learning Systems (SAILS) program - aims to harness AI and machine learning to accelerate data processing at Marine Operations Centers, optimize resource allocation, and streamline logistics for globally dispersed fleets with user-friendly, modular AI tools.

This technological push aligns with the Navy's forthcoming roadmap, which targets full routine integration of autonomous and robotic systems by 2027 including unmanned surface vessel programs.

The efforts in Hampton Roads exemplify how advanced AI-enabled systems are transforming training, logistics, and operational readiness for the modern Navy as profiled by regional media.

Arrive AI and Go2 Delivery have launched a pioneering partnership that is transforming pharmaceutical logistics across Virginia, making Chesapeake and neighboring cities early adopters of cutting-edge autonomous medication delivery.

Leveraging Arrive AI's patented Arrive Points™ autonomous delivery stations, Go2 Delivery - a Virginia Beach-based, carbon-free courier company - will securely deliver specialty pharmacy products, including high-value medications worth up to $30,000, to patients in Virginia Beach, Hampton Roads, Richmond, and Norfolk.

The technology integrates climate-controlled, secure mailboxes with robust authentication to ensure HIPAA compliance and accurate delivery, particularly benefiting theft-prone or multi-family environments where delivery errors are common.

The system is further enhanced by features such as IoT device compatibility, public safety alerts, and charging station capabilities. As Go2 Delivery CEO Eric Brown noted,

“The Arrive AI platform offers a compelling solution for pharmacies managing high-risk, high-value medications…ensuring secure delivery, especially in theft-prone or multi-family environments, benefiting patients with serious health challenges.”

Virginia's leadership in autonomous delivery, previously seen with Walmart and Wing's drone services, is now expanding to high-stakes healthcare logistics through this collaboration.

For more details, see the full coverage by the Des Moines Register's report on secure medication delivery in Virginia, explore technology insights from SP Edge's breakdown of last-mile delivery automation, and review additional local context in NC News Online's announcement of the Arrive AI and Go2 Delivery partnership.

Portsmouth, VA is set to lead the region in sustainable waste management with the announcement of a $200 million AI-powered recycling facility - one of the largest such investments in the area's history.

The facility, a partnership among the Southeastern Public Service Authority, Recycling and Disposal Solutions of Virginia (RDS), and AMP Sortation, will deploy the industry-first AMP ONE™ system to process over 150 tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) per day and recover up to 60% of landfill-bound materials.

Powered by advanced AI, the system identifies and extracts recyclables and organics from mixed waste with over 90% uptime, transforming how trash is managed in landfill-constrained communities.

According to AMP Founder Matanya Horowitz,

“The economic and environmental opportunity in extracting value from the municipal solid waste stream is massive, and innovative sortation is key to unlocking this market.”

The facility will also produce biochar from organic waste, storing carbon that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere and offering uses from concrete production to odor control.

As Mayor Shannon Glover stated, this project

“will put Portsmouth at the forefront of smart, sustainable innovation in Hampton Roads.”

For technical and investment details, see Portsmouth's official State of the City recap and WHRO's analysis on regional waste strategy.

For more about AMP's AI-powered approach, visit AMP Robotics' facility announcement.

AI-powered mammogram analysis is demonstrating life-saving impacts at the Hampton VA Medical Center, reflecting a broader transformation in breast cancer screening nationwide.

U.S. Army veteran Valerie Jackson's recent experience at the Hampton VA underscores the technology's potential: after using AI-assisted scans, radiologists detected cysts that would have otherwise remained hidden until later in the year, accelerating access to care and essential follow-up appointments.

Dr. Benjamin Pettus, featured in the coverage, explained,

“It's giving this particular lesion an intermediate score, which means it's not an overly suspicious look to the AI but it's concerned about something. That's helpful information to me because, again, this patient has multiple cysts everywhere.”

Nationwide, AI adoption in mammography is on the rise, with FDA-cleared algorithms now analyzing millions of the 40 million annual mammograms in the U.S., and leading health systems like Mount Sinai already performing over 100,000 AI-assisted mammograms to enhance detection of hard-to-spot cancers.

Notably, a recent real-world study on AI boosting breast cancer detection rates and reducing radiologist workload showed AI can boost detection rates by nearly 18% while reducing radiologist workload by triaging 59.4% of exams as normal, suggesting new levels of precision and efficiency.

Meanwhile, research published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute on AI integration in mammogram screening reports that AI integration could cut the number of hard-to-detect “interval cancers” by 30%.

As summarized by Mount Sinai's imaging chief, “[AI] does not replace the expertise of our radiologists - it enhances it,” giving both doctors and patients a second set of eyes and peace of mind.

For those interested in local patient stories, Jackson's journey and the role of AI at Hampton VA can be read in detail at News 3's community report on AI-assisted mammogram success at Hampton VA.

Virginia is rapidly positioning itself as a leader in autonomous delivery innovations, with several pioneering projects unfolding across the state. In James City County, the police department recently commenced test flights for a first-of-its-kind program using drones to deliver automated external defibrillators (AEDs) during cardiac emergencies, aiming to cut response times and save lives in rural communities; as Sgt.

Tiara Suggs explains,

“I can get a drone to a house in less than 90 seconds... The quicker we can get defibrillation to an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest event, it increases the likelihood of survival.”

The private sector is also advancing last-mile healthcare delivery, with Virginia Beach-based GO2 Delivery - partnering with Arrive AI - launching secure drone drop-offs of critical pharmaceuticals at “Arrive Points,” helping eliminate misdelivered medications in large apartment complexes and supporting patients managing high-value treatments worth up to $30,000 each.

For details on this secure medicine delivery platform, visit the Virginia Beach medical courier drone delivery story.

Complementing these healthcare breakthroughs, Virginia is a hub for commercial drone delivery in retail; Christiansburg's Wendy's partnered with DoorDash and Wing (Alphabet's drone arm) for aerial fast-food delivery, part of a broader pattern that saw the nation's first legally authorized drone medication delivery take flight in rural Virginia.

Explore how businesses are leveraging drone logistics and paving the way for rapid expansion in the U.S. by following the Wendy's drone delivery pilot in Christiansburg.

An emerging ecosystem - spanning emergency medicine, pharmacy, and food - is securing Virginia's place at the forefront of autonomous delivery innovation.

The Senate's recent hearings in May 2025 revealed substantial bipartisan and industry support for the federal “NO FAKES Act,” designed to combat the rising threat of AI-generated deepfakes that exploit voice and likeness without consent.

The proposed legislation creates explicit federal rights for individuals to control the use of their voices and images, mandates a notice-and-takedown procedure for unauthorized digital replicas, and balances these protections with robust First Amendment safeguards.

Testimony from industry leaders - spanning music icons like Martina McBride, executives from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Consumer Reports, and YouTube - underscored deepfakes' harms to artists, consumers, and vulnerable groups, noting generative AI abuse reports have surged more than 1,300% year-over-year.

As summarized by Mitch Glazier, CEO & Chairman of RIAA,

“[The NO FAKES Act] paves the way for genuine AI development and innovation, targeting only malicious applications and setting the stage for legitimate licensing of these rights, but only with real and meaningful consent.”

Nearly 400 high-profile creators and organizations have rallied behind the bill, including major tech firms and child advocacy groups.

The legislative approach also draws on lessons from recent laws like the TAKE IT DOWN Act, recently signed to address non-consensual explicit AI content, and reflects careful debate about balancing innovation and individual protections.

For more on the hearing's detailed testimony and policy context, see the full Senate transcript on AI deepfakes and the NO FAKES Act, an overview from the Recording Academy's advocacy perspective, and the testimony highlights from RIAA Chairman & CEO Mitch Glazier on artists' rights in the age of AI.

AMP Sortation is redefining recycling in Chesapeake, VA and beyond, as its AI-powered sortation systems set new industry benchmarks for landfill diversion and resource recovery.

The recently installed AMP ONE™ technology at the Recycling and Disposal Solutions of Virginia facility in Portsmouth now processes up to 150 tons of local municipal solid waste (MSW) per day with over 90% operational uptime, separating recyclables and organics with a superhuman level of accuracy.

As AMP CEO Matanya Horowitz describes,

“It pulls out all these correlations and it figures out, okay what are the logos, shapes, textures that's correlated with this can or whatever it is. At this point it's kind of superhuman in terms of what [the AI algorithm] can identify.”

These advancements come amid the city's announcement of a $200 million AI-powered recycling facility - Portsmouth's second leveraging AMP technology - which Mayor Shannon Glover says will help extend landfill life and put the region “at the forefront of smart, sustainable innovation.” The company's AI platform is trained on millions of material images and has to date identified 150 billion items, guiding the sortation of more than 2.5 million tons of recyclables.

Backed by a $91 million Series D funding round, AMP's continued growth targets both improved environmental outcomes and operational efficiency. For a deeper look at AMP's impact on Portsmouth's waste management, explore the AI-enabled MSW sortation driving landfill diversion in Portsmouth, see the $200 million AI-powered material recovery facility announcement, and learn more about AMP's Series D investment to scale recycling innovation at AMP Robotics' latest $91 million funding milestone.

Chesapeake, VA is emerging as a leader in leveraging AI-powered delivery to tackle urban housing challenges such as package theft, delivery errors, and the logistical demands of multi-family environments.

Arrive AI has partnered with Go2 Delivery - a carbon-free Virginia courier - to deploy autonomous delivery solutions capable of handling high-value, temperature-sensitive medications and critical shipments using secure, climate-controlled smart mailboxes.

As explained by Eric Brown, CEO of Go2 Delivery,

“The Arrive AI platform provides secure, individually linked mailboxes for accurate, single-point deliveries, ensuring correct recipients receive their packages at the right temperature.”

These systems address privacy and compliance risks while bolstering reliability and include integrations with IoT devices and smart home security.

Their real-world application is already underway at Hancock Health in Indiana, where Arrive Points™ are streamlining, automating, and safeguarding the autonomous transport of medical biospecimens - a blueprint for urban deployment in Chesapeake and beyond as detailed in the Hancock Health press announcement.

The rollout in Virginia Beach follows months of successful testing and is poised to support residents in apartment complexes where delivery complications and theft are common, setting the stage for wider adoption across healthcare and urban delivery networks according to the Arrive AI and Go2 Delivery official deal coverage.

With an infusion of $40 million in funding and new public market access, Arrive AI's platform integrates ground robots, drones, and humans for frictionless, secure last-mile exchange - offering climate control, real-time tracking, and robust chain-of-custody management, as highlighted in The Robot Report's recent overview.

Together, these innovations signal a new era of safe, efficient, and sustainable package delivery tailored to complex urban housing landscapes.

The U.S. Navy is leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance predictive health monitoring and operational readiness for its personnel, with significant advancements rolling out across the fleet.

Admiral Daryl Caudle notes,

“AI gives us predictive capability based on looking at these data sets compared to historical large data sets and giving folks better ways to help sailors with - it could be mental health predictions, it could be physical predictions with their body and it could certainly be dental readiness, as examples.”

One key innovation is the deployment of Enterprise Remote Monitoring Version 4 (ERM v4) aboard the USS Fitzgerald, which analyzes around 10,000 sensor readings per second to enable condition-based maintenance and early issue detection, keeping ships and crews deployment-ready.

These efforts are part of a broader digital health transformation, outlined in the Military Health System's strategy, encompassing AI-driven self-care tools, data management, and workforce training to improve outcomes for over 9.5 million beneficiaries.

The table below highlights ERM v4's core features and impacts:

For more on these developments, see WAVY's interview with Admiral Caudle in Tech on Deck: The use of AI technology in U.S. Navy, the technical breakdown in US Navy warship gets first AI system for ensuring battle-readiness, and the MHS's forward-looking digital health strategy at Military Health System's Digital Transformation Will Improve Operational Readiness.

In a landmark step to address the growing dangers of AI-driven image abuse, President Trump signed the bipartisan Take It Down Act into federal law on May 19, 2025, marking the first comprehensive national regulation targeting nonconsensual intimate imagery - including AI-generated deepfakes and “revenge porn.” The law criminalizes the publication and distribution of such material, applying penalties of up to three years imprisonment for offenses involving minors and two years for adult cases, while mandating online platforms to remove reported content within 48 hours and take reasonable steps to prevent reuploads, under the watch of the Federal Trade Commission.

As reported by ActiveFence's compliance analysis of the Take It Down Act, the statute not only preempts a patchwork of state laws but also imposes clear technical and legal obligations on social platforms, image generators, hosting services, and related enterprises.

Victims benefit from a streamlined takedown process that eliminates litigation barriers and prioritizes swift relief - requiring proof of identity and URLs but no need to show harm or malicious intent, as detailed by The 19th's practical explainer on using the Act.

The legislation, as described in NBC News' coverage of the bill signing, arose in response to a 105% surge in AI-enabled sexual exploitation since 2022 and has been championed by both lawmakers and survivors.

A poignant reminder of the law's intent comes from survivor advocate Omny Miranda Martone:

“Please know you are not alone, and this is not your fault. What's happening to you is a violation - it's digital sexual violence - and you deserve justice, safety and support.”

Enterprises have until May 2026 to comply with these robust protections, signaling a decisive shift in U.S. policy on AI, digital privacy, and online safety.

As Chesapeake closes a transformative month in tech and artificial intelligence, the region's momentum is amplified by national debates over AI regulation, rapid-fire startup funding, and landmark local investments.

Congressional efforts to pause state-level AI regulation for a decade highlight the industry's call for a unified federal standard - underscored by leaders like Sam Altman and Brad Smith - though the bill's fate remains uncertain, as documented by the Daily Press coverage of the ongoing legislative tug-of-war over AI oversight.

Chesapeake and Virginia continue to shine in the entrepreneurial arena, with news such as the $22.4 million Greenbrier Mall acquisition and the expansion of regional accelerators, detailed in the Virginia Business May 2025 News Roundup.

Meanwhile, global appetite for AI innovation is strong, as May closes with companies like Snorkel AI and Outcomes4Me landing major funding to scale advanced platforms - demonstrating the region's integration into worldwide tech currents, summarized in this AI startup funding overview from TechStartups.

As federal, state, and local forces shape the path ahead, Chesapeake stands ready - not just as a beneficiary but as a contributor to national discussions and a gateway for next-generation startups, educators, and professionals.

With growing investment in AI-powered infrastructure and diverse avenues for upskilling (like Nucamp's solo tech entrepreneur and full stack bootcamps with scholarships for underrepresented groups), the city and region remain on the leading edge of technological and economic progress.