Rocket Lab’s $8B Mega-Deal, Windows 10 Saved & AI Safety | Tech Field Day News Rundown: July 1, 2026

Big Tech and the space industry are completely rewriting the rules of infrastructure, from low-Earth orbit down to the safety guardrails of generative AI. In this episode of the Tech Field Day News Rundown, Tom Hollingsworth and Alastair Cooke tackle Rocket Lab’s massive $8 billion acquisition of satellite operator Iridium and its play for total space infrastructure dominance. They also dive into Qualcomm’s strategic buyout of Modular to challenge enterprise AI giants, China's deployment of its first fully renewable-powered AI data center, and the Trump administration's cybersecurity-centric AI Executive Order. Finally, the team breaks down Couchbase’s new AI Data Plane, Microsoft’s surprising decision to extend free Windows 10 security updates until 2027, and a controversial shift from Anthropic that might just turn AI safety into a premium, paid feature. Time Stamps: 0:00 - Cold Open 0:27 - Welcome to the Tech Field Day News Rundown 1:29 - Rocket Lab Buys Iridium in $8 Billion Space Industry Deal 4:20 - Qualcomm Buys Modular to Expand Open AI From Edge to Cloud 6:57 - China Opens First Fully Renewable-Powered AI Data Center 10:14 - Trump AI Order Signals New Focus on Cybersecurity 14:11 - Couchbase Expands Database Platform for AI Agents 17:30 - Microsoft Extends Windows 10 Security Updates to 2027 22:26 - Anthropic’s New AI Models Raise Big Questions About Safety 30:50 - The Weeks Ahead: Upcoming Events 32:37 - Thanks for Watching the Tech Field Day News Rundown Hosts: Tom Hollingsworth, Event Lead for Tech Field Day Tech Field Day: https://techfieldday.com/people/tom-h... LinkedIn:   / networkingnerd   Alastair Cooke, Event Lead at Tech Field Day Tech Field Day: https://techfieldday.com/people/alast... LinkedIn:   / alastaircooke   Stephen Foskett, President of Tech Field Day Tech Field Day: https://techfieldday.com/people/steph... LinkedIn:   / sfoskett   Tech Field Day: Website: https://www.techfieldday.com LinkedIn:   / tech-field-day   X/Twitter:   / techfieldday   Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/techfieldday... #TFDRundown #RocketLab #Iridium #Windows10 #Anthropic #Qualcomm #Modular #AIDataCenter #TechNews #EnterpriseAI #SpaceTech #CloudComputing