[8/2 18:00] US states move to repeal data center tax breaks, AI compute costs seen rising 7 percent or more / Xbox price hikes take effect in Europe, up to 200 euros more

AI News Flash for August 02, 2026 at 18:00 UTC. Topics: 1. US states move to repeal data center tax breaks, AI compute costs seen rising 7 percent or more https://www.theinformation.com/newsletters/ai-infrastructure/exclusive-data-center-costs-set-rise-u-s-states-move-repeal-tax-breaks 2. Xbox price hikes take effect in Europe, up to 200 euros more https://www.theverge.com/games/974253/xbox-prices-increasing-200-euros 3. Index Ventures raises 3.5 billion dollars to expand AI and Israeli startup investments https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/hy3lfltbml 4. xAI's Grok Imagine Video 1.5 update adds seven reference images and voice reference https://www.techtimes.com/articles/322670/20260802/grok-imagine-video-update-adds-1080p-voice-cloning-seven-reference-scene-control.htm 5. Malaysia orders shutdown of Balaji Srinivasan's Network School https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/02/malaysia-is-reportedly-shutting-down-balaji-srinivasans-network-school/