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Quantum computing stocks have emerged as one of 2024's hottest investment themes, with the Defiance Quantum ETF ( QTUM 4.63% ) soaring 49.4% year to date, nearly doubling the S&P 500 's robust 24.3% gain. While widespread commercial quantum computers might take years to develop, major technological breakthroughs have sparked an early rush into what many see as the next computing revolution. The excitement isn't just speculative hype. Quantum computing achieved two groundbreaking milestones in 2024, suggesting we're approaching a technological tipping point. Alphabet ( GOOG 1.72% ) ( GOOGL 1.54% ) made history with its Willow quantum computing system, which demonstrated the ability to reduce errors as the number of qubits increases exponentially. This breakthrough solves a challenge that has stumped researchers for nearly 30 years. Even more impressively, Willow completed a benchmark computation in under five minutes that would require today's fastest supercomputers 10 septillion years to solve -- a timespan far greater than the universe's age. Meanwhile, quantum computing start-up Infleqtion, working with Nvidia ( NVDA 3.08% ) , achieved another first by demonstrating a practical materials science application using logical qubits. This breakthrough, which delivered a 6x boost in computational accuracy, hints at quantum computing's potential to revolutionize everything from battery technology to superconductors. While quantum computing remains in its infancy, these early breakthroughs, spurred by tech giants Alphabet and Nvidia, suggest we might be at the dawn of a computing revolution. Two companies are pioneering this transformative technology that could supercharge your portfolio in 2025 and beyond. Industry leadership through quantum execution Trapped-ion quantum computing leader IonQ ( IONQ 17.64% ) has emerged as one of 2024's standout quantum computing stocks. The company's novel approach uses ionized atoms as the heart of its quantum systems, enabling longer and more sophisticated calculations with fewer errors than competing approaches. IonQ's platform integrates with all major cloud providers and supports multiple programming languages, making quantum computing highly accessible to developers and researchers. The company's competitive advantages come from deep academic roots in ion trap technology spanning over 25 years of research and proven commercial traction through government and enterprise partnerships. IonQ has also expanded into quantum networking, working at the intersection of quantum computing and the future quantum internet. However, despite IonQ's impressive 258.5% stock gain in 2024, the company remains unprofitable and faces significant technological and commercialization risks. The quantum computing industry is still in its early stages, with uncertain timelines for achieving practical advantages over classical computers. Competition from tech giants and other quantum start-ups and the potential for technological obsolescence represent key risks to IonQ's market position. While IonQ's valuation may seem steep after its stellar 2024 run, with shares trading at nearly 250 times trailing sales, the company's growing commercial momentum, expanding quantum networking business, and strong balance sheet of $382.8 million at the end of the most recent quarter put it in pole position to capture a significant share of what could become a multitrillion-dollar quantum computing market. For investors with a high risk tolerance and a long-term horizon, IonQ offers pure-play exposure to one of technology's most promising frontiers. Industry leadership through superconducting innovation Quantum computing pioneer Rigetti Computing ( RGTI 25.43% ) takes a fundamentally different approach to quantum computing than IonQ, using superconducting circuits instead of trapped ions. The company's vertically integrated strategy includes Fab-1, the industry's first dedicated quantum foundry, giving Rigetti control over the entire quantum chip development process. This in-house manufacturing capability allows for rapid innovation cycles and helps protect against supply chain risks. The company's latest Ankaa quantum processor architecture has achieved 98% two-qubit gate fidelity, marking significant progress in quantum performance. Rigetti's strategy focuses heavily on scalability through a modular chip design that allows larger quantum systems to be built from smaller, identical components. The company has also built strong partnerships across government, research, and commercial sectors. However, like other quantum companies, Rigetti faces major technological hurdles and remains unprofitable. The stock's 851.2% surge in 2024 and valuation at 130 times sales indicate investors are pricing in significant future growth potential. Still, with its integrated manufacturing approach, improving quantum performance metrics, and clear technology roadmap through 2025, Rigetti offers an intriguing pure-play option for investors seeking exposure to superconducting quantum computing technology. The quantum investing strategy: Pure plays versus tech giants While tech giants like Alphabet and Nvidia have made significant strides in quantum computing, their massive market capitalizations mean quantum breakthroughs will likely have minimal impact on their stock prices. Pure-play quantum companies like IonQ and Rigetti offer more direct exposure to the technology's potential, though with considerably higher risk. Each represents a different technological approach -- trapped ions versus superconducting circuits -- and both could emerge as winners in what may become a massive new computing market. Given quantum computing's early stage and technical complexity, however, many investors may prefer a more diversified approach. The Defiance Quantum ETF offers exactly that, balancing pure-play quantum stocks with established tech leaders advancing the technology . With quantum computing potentially approaching an inflection point, investors now have multiple ways to position themselves for what could become one of the most transformative technologies of our time.
Party City to close its stores as company files for bankruptcy LOS ANGELES (AP) — Party City announced that it's going to “wind down” its retail and wholesale operations as it prepares to shutter nearly 700 stores nationwide. The company said Saturday it has also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection "to maximize value for the benefit of the company’s stakeholders.” The New Jersey-based retailer said it will keep more than 95% of its 12,000 employees to help with the process of closing down. Customers have flocked to Party City for Halloween costumes, favors for children’s birthday parties and decorations for New Year’s Eve celebrations for nearly 40 years. It has faced growing competition from Walmart and Target and from occasion-based pop-up stores such as Spirit Halloween. A million taxpayers will soon receive up to $1,400 from the IRS. Who are they and why now? Approximately 1 million taxpayers will automatically receive special payments of up to $1,400 from the IRS in the coming weeks. The money will be directly deposited into eligible people’s bank accounts or sent in the mail by a paper check. Most people shouldn't get their hopes up about receiving the cash. The IRS says it’s distributing about $2.4 billion to taxpayers who failed to claim a Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2021 tax returns after missing one of the COVID stimulus payments or receiving less than the full amount. The IRS says most taxpayers eligible for the federal stimulus payments received them. Bluesky finds with growth comes growing pains — and bots Bluesky has seen its user base soar since the U.S. presidential election, boosted by people seeking refuge from Elon Musk’s X, or wanting an alternative to Meta’s Threads and its algorithms. The platform grew out of the company then known as Twitter and was eventually intended to replace it. While this is still very much a pie in the sky, Bluesky’s growth trajectory could make it a serious competitor to other social platforms. With growth, though, comes growing pains. It’s not just human users who’ve been flocking to Bluesky but also bots, including those designed to create partisan division or direct users to junk websites. 'Sonic 3' bests 'Mufasa: The Lion King' at the box office NEW YORK (AP) — In the holiday season battle of big-budget family movies, Paramount Pictures’ “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” sped past the Walt Disney Co.’s “Mufasa: The Lion King” to take the top spot at the box office. The results came just ahead of the lucrative Christmas corridor in theaters. According to studio estimates, “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” debuted with $62 million in ticket sales over the weekend. “Mufasa,” however, was humbled in its opening weekend, coming in notably shy of expectations. It returned just $35 million in domestic ticket sales. Amazon and Starbucks workers are on strike. Trump might have something to do with it Amazon delivery drivers and Starbucks baristas are on strike in a handful of U.S. cities as they seek to exert pressure on the two major companies to recognize them as unionized employees or to meet demands for an inaugural labor contract. Strikes during busy periods like the holidays can help unions exercise leverage during negotiations or garner support from sympathetic consumers. One expert says he thinks workers at both companies are “desperate” to make progress before President-elect Donald Trump can appoint a Republican majority to the National Labor Relations Board. Workers at Starbucks, Amazon and some other prominent consumer brands are fighting for their first contracts after several locations voted to unionize. Farmers are still reeling months after Hurricane Helene ravaged crops across the South LYONS, Ga. (AP) — Farmers in Georgia are still reeling more than two months after Hurricane Helene blew away cotton, destroyed ripened squash and cucumbers and uprooted pecan trees and timber. Agribusinesses in other Southern states saw costly damage as well. The University of Georgia estimates the September storm inflicted $5.5 billion in direct losses and indirect costs in Georgia alone. In rural Toombs County, Chris Hopkins just finished harvesting his ravaged cotton crop and figures he lost half of it, costing him about $430,000. Poultry grower Jeffrey Pridgen in Georgia's Coffee County had four of his 12 chicken houses destroyed and others badly damaged. Farmers say more government disaster assistance is needed. Ex-OpenAI engineer who raised legal concerns about the technology he helped build has died Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26. He was well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAI’s strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products. But he grew disillusioned with the company and told The Associated Press this fall he would “try to testify” in copyright infringement cases against it. Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge shows price pressures eased last month WASHINGTON (AP) — An inflation gauge that is closely watched by the Federal Reserve barely rose last month in a sign that price pressures cooled after two months of sharp gains. Prices rose just 0.1% from October to November. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, prices also ticked up just 0.1%, after two months of outsize 0.3% gains. The milder inflation figures arrived two days after Federal Reserve officials, led by Chair Jerome Powell, rocked financial markets by revealing that they now expect to cut their key interest rate just two times in 2025, down from four in their previous estimate. Albania to close TikTok for a year blaming it for promoting violence among children TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albania’s prime minister says the government will shut down video service TikTok for one year, blaming it for inciting violence and bullying, especially among children. Albanian authorities held 1,300 meetings with teachers and parents following the stabbing death of a teenager in mid-November by another teenager following a quarrel that started on TikTok. Prime Minister Edi Rama, speaking at a meeting with teachers and parents, said TikTok “would be fully closed for all. ... There will be no TikTok in the Republic of Albania.” Rama says the ban will begin sometime next year. Albanian children comprise the largest group of TikTok users in the country, according to domestic researchers. Stock market today: Wall Street rises to turn a dismal week into just a bad one NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rose to turn what would have been one of the market’s worst weeks of the year into just a pretty bad one. The S&P 500 rallied 1.1% Friday to shave its loss for the week down to 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped nearly 500 points, and the Nasdaq composite gained 1%. A report said a measure of inflation the Federal Reserve likes to use was slightly lower last month than expected. It’s an encouraging signal after the Fed shocked markets Wednesday by saying worries about inflation could keep it from cutting interest rates in 2025 as much as earlier thought.Triumph Gold Corp. ( CVE:TIG – Get Free Report ) shares shot up 35.3% on Friday . The stock traded as high as C$0.23 and last traded at C$0.23. 178,150 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 599% from the average session volume of 25,471 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$0.17. Triumph Gold Trading Up 35.3 % The company has a market cap of C$9.83 million, a PE ratio of -7.67 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 56.37. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of C$0.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$0.19. About Triumph Gold ( Get Free Report ) Triumph Gold Corp., a junior natural resource company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties. The company primarily explores for gold, silver, copper, and molybdenum deposits. Its flagship project is the Freegold Mountain project located in Yukon, Canada. The company was formerly known as Northern Freegold Resources Ltd. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Triumph Gold Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Triumph Gold and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .
Carter Center came to former president in a dreamMADRID – Iran's ambassador to Moscow, Kazem Jalali, announced that the two countries are set to sign a comprehensive cooperation agreement that will strengthen their bilateral relations. According to Jalali, the pact will be formalized during the official visit of Masoud Pezeshkian to Moscow on January 17, when the presidents of Iran and Russia will sign the document, which will include key areas of strategic collaboration. This rapprochement underscores the mutual interest in consolidating an alliance that goes beyond economics, extending to educational and cultural management. In an international context marked by uncertainties, Tehran and Moscow are working to solidify their cooperation to face common challenges. The Iranian ambassador highlighted progress in key economic projects, such as the North-South Transport Corridor, which remains a strategic priority for both countries. In this context, he recalled the recent visit to Tehran of two Russian deputy prime ministers, who met with the Iranian president and other high-ranking officials to discuss advancements in this initiative. Russia has solidified its position as one of Iran's key strategic partners on both the international and regional fronts. Amid a growing rift with the West, particularly the United States, and in the face of political and military instability in West Asia, Iran has intensified its efforts to strengthen ties with Moscow. This partnership, bolstered by mutual interest in countering U.S. influence, has been pivotal in areas such as the Caspian region, further strengthening the bond between the two nations. This strategic alignment has fostered a convergence of interests and positions on several fronts, particularly highlighting their collaboration in Syria. Both countries have aligned in their support for Bashar al-Assad's regime, allowing them to coordinate efforts in the fight against extremist groups and consolidate their influence in the region. However, both external and internal factors pose challenges to the expansion of cooperation between Iran and Russia. The economic dependence of both countries on energy exports, their economic difficulties, and cultural and social differences have been significant obstacles to the development of their political and economic relations. The impact of these obstacles is complex. On one hand, for Iranian leaders, even under Vladimir Putin's leadership, Russia has demonstrated that, despite its tensions with the West, it seeks to maintain peaceful and advantageous relations with the United States. On the other hand, the Iranian government views its hostility with Washington as "endless," a confrontation rooted in a political vision that challenges the traditional Western order. During periods of rapprochement between Russia and the United States, such as during Dmitry Medvedev's presidency, the ties between Tehran and Moscow suffered a noticeable cooling, and Russia failed to fulfill some of its commitments. A clear example of this was the refusal to deliver the S-300 missile systems to Iran. These dynamics highlight that any shift in relations between the United States and Russia can have significant repercussions for the ties between Moscow and Tehran. Russia's significance to Iran has primarily been on the international level, serving as a counterbalance to reduce the pressure exerted by the United States. In turn, Iran has taken on a strategic role for Russia in the regional sphere, particularly in West and Central Asia. Their cooperation in Syria has strengthened their mutual importance, solidifying a relationship that finds one of its main drivers in the structure of the international system. Russia has leveraged its relationships with regional powers such as Iran to counteract the influence of the West. Furthermore, Moscow, as a power capable of institutionalizing its presence in the region, seeks to strengthen its global influence through initiatives like the Eurasian Economic Union and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. These strategies underscore its intention to demonstrate to the West that it is not possible to address crises and global issues, especially on a regional level, without its involvement. Vladimir Putin's leadership has been crucial in the expansion of ties between Russia and Iran. During his tenure, political and economic relations between the two countries have deepened, particularly in the energy and military cooperation sectors. Putin's influence has been key in promoting common interests, such as their opposition to Western intervention in West Asia and their strategic collaboration in the Syrian conflict. Iran has become the third-largest importer of Russian arms, after India and China. This military collaboration has allowed Tehran to acquire significant capabilities to address its security needs. Access to Russian military technologies, combined with domestic missile production, has strengthened Iran's regional position and its ability to counter Western threats, particularly under the pretext of its nuclear program. However, between 2005 and 2010, relations between Iran and Russia went through a period of deterioration. The "reset" policy promoted by the Barack Obama administration led to greater cooperation between Moscow and Washington regarding Iran's nuclear program. This was reflected in the approval of UN Security Council Resolution 1737 in 2006 and the sanctions imposed by Russia on Tehran. In 2010, Dmitry Medvedev signed the implementation of UN Resolution 1929, which prohibited economic relations with Iran, including transactions with the Iranian government and citizens. It also banned Iranian citizens from traveling to Russia for activities related to nuclear matters, intensifying restrictions against Tehran. Between 2006 and 2009, Russia supported all UN Security Council resolutions against Iran following reports from the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency. In return, Moscow received strategic concessions from the United States, such as a halt in the development of a third missile defense area in Eastern Europe, the signing of the START-1 Treaty, an agreement for Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization, and the revival of the nuclear pact with Iran. Vladimir Putin's return to the Kremlin in 2012, following a constitutional reform that allowed him to remain president until 2018, marked a turning point in Russia's policy toward Iran. During Iran's negotiations with world powers, Moscow worked to reassure Israel that Iran's nuclear program did not pose a threat, acting as a mediator within the framework of the 5+1 agreement. The election of Hassan Rouhani in 2013, with his promise to ease tensions with the West and resolve the nuclear issue, increased Russia's interest in strengthening ties with Tehran. This period also solidified regional collaborations in conflicts such as those in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, leading Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to describe Iran as a "natural ally" in 2014. The outbreak of the so-called "Arab Revolutions" further emphasized the convergence between the two countries, highlighted by their firm opposition to Western interventions in North Africa and West Asia. This alliance, forged on shared interests, has redefined their strategic role in a region marked by profound political and social transformations. Since 2015, bilateral relations between Iran and Russia have experienced a notable strengthening in political, economic, and regional spheres. After Vladimir Putin's second visit to Tehran, the leaders of both countries agreed to elevate their relationship to a strategic level, opening up new opportunities for cooperation. Since then, Iran has become a key ally for Russia, addressing its concerns beyond its borders. The Western sanctions imposed on both Iran and Russia have been a key factor driving both countries to strengthen their bilateral trade relations. Iran, with its large population, represents an attractive market for Russian products and services. Meanwhile, Russia has worked to promote closer cooperation between Iran and members of the Eurasian Economic Union. For Iran, this alliance represents an opportunity to consolidate itself as one of the main transit routes for goods and services between the Union's countries and South Asia, with a particular focus on India. Relations between Iran and Russia have taken a significant turn with the signing of contracts worth $4 billion with various Russian companies. These agreements, aimed at fostering investment, received considerable momentum during Ebrahim Raisi's administration. Iranian authorities believe that Russian energy companies, in collaboration with their Chinese partners, are well-positioned to manage Iran's energy sector. Despite the strengthening of this relationship, Iran does not benefit equitably. In the context of international isolation, the Persian country collaborates with Russia from a position of necessity, highlighting the asymmetry in this strategic alliance. Iran's stance on Russia's war in Ukraine has been characterized by caution and a delicate diplomatic balance. Officially, both state media and high-ranking Iranian officials have avoided openly condemning Russia, instead opting to justify its actions from a perspective that criticizes Western expansion. Iran's position also reflects the complexities of its foreign policy, which seeks to balance its strategic interests without alienating its international partners or exacerbating its already delicate geopolitical situation. This complexity is evident in how, from the Iranian government and with the backing of its military institutions, the country has refused any direct involvement in the conflict, continuously calling for a diplomatic solution to end the war in Ukraine. In this regard, former Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian stated in Geneva: "Unlike the West, which has provided billions of dollars in weapons to Ukraine, Iran has not supplied arms to either side in the war and does not support any faction." Recently, the current Foreign Minister, Sayyid Abbas Araghchi, made it clear in a post on the social media platform X that "Iran has not sent any ballistic missiles to Russia." These statements underscore Iran's stance of remaining neutral in the conflict, rejecting any direct involvement but offering its services as a mediator to resolve the crisis, while continuing to promote the expansion of its relations with Russia in other strategic areas. Thus, decision-makers in Iran, while maintaining multifaceted cooperation with Russia across various domains, express concern over the expansion of the conflict and constantly emphasize the importance of finding peaceful solutions to end the military confrontation between Russia and Ukraine. Understanding Tehran’s stance on the war in Ukraine requires considering not only its perception of the changing international order but also the geopolitical implications of regional rivalries in West Asia and Central Asia, as well as internal political considerations. These factors have led Iran to collaborate closely with Russia, while simultaneously continuing to proclaim "neutrality" in the conflict, primarily driven by concerns over the potential repercussions of the war. Currently, Tehran is paying a high price for its rapprochement with Moscow, while the benefits of this strategy are still not entirely clear. Iran has come to be considered a declared enemy of Ukraine, a country that, leveraging its international sympathy, is applying pressure on Tehran. Kyiv has intensified its lobbying efforts to attract allies against Iran. Finally, it is worth noting that, although during the election campaign the government of Masoud Pezeshkian mentioned the possibility of revisiting relations with Russia, everything points to the fact that, given the regional context and the arrival of Donald Trump to the White House, both countries will continue to view each other as strategic allies.
From two catfish records broken less than three weeks apart (by the same angler) to one of the “smallest” state record fish ever caught in Idaho, it’s time to wrap up the top “big fish” stories from 2024. In total, 2024 had 7 new state records, which included 4 certified-weight records and 3 new catch-and-release records. Making the cut in 2024 were the following angler trophy stories. Two record catfish, one angler Lucas Barnett knew he had hauled up a monster channel catfish on Oct. 7, 2024, a 34 1⁄4-inch tank that had been calling Caldwell’s Rotary Pond home for quite some time. Lucas was so confident that the fat cat might wind up being the new state catch-and-release record that he submitted the state record application later that day. Before State Sportfish Coordinator Martin Koenig could even process the Oct. 7 application, he received another telegram from the same angler—this time reporting an even larger 37 1⁄2-inch channel catfish from the same pond caught on Nov. 1. Amazingly enough, both records would have put Lucas at the top of the state catch-and-release record board, edging out the previous record-holder by an inch or two. But, it was the second catfish that ultimately solidified his name in the record books. Tiger King In yet another incredulous record fish story that passed torches in a matter of weeks, Montpelier resident Austin Christensen capped off his June 1st fishing trip with a 27 1⁄4-inch tiger trout. (For those unfamiliar, a tiger trout is a sterile hybrid between a brown trout and a brook trout.) Christensen was fishing his home waters of Montpelier Reservoir when he landed the 9.13-pound trout, clinching a new certified weight state record. Funny enough, Christensen’s tiger trout snuffed out fellow Montpelier resident Tyson Lutz’s record tiger trout...which had been caught just 15 days earlier. Lutz had hauled in his 8.3-pounder on May 17 from, you guessed it, Montpelier Reservoir. Tiger trout were introduced to Montpelier Reservoir in 2016 and can be found in a few select places across Idaho. You can find stocking information using the Idaho Fishing Planner and learn more about state record fish here. It’s a beaut, Clark Westslope cutthroat trout are found in rivers (and some lakes) primarily throughout central and northern Idaho. They rarely exceed 20 inches, making Daniel Whitesitt’s April 13 catch a memorable one. Whitesitt, of Post Falls, landed a new catch-and-release state record for Westslope cutthroat trout while fishing the Clark Fork River in northern Idaho. After landing the fish, Daniel recorded the required measurements and photos to document the fish's impressive length before releasing the trout to fight another day. At 25 inches long, the Daniel's fish eclipsed the previous record of 24 inches set by Madison Nackos in 2021 from nearby Priest Lake. Cutthroat trout are Idaho's state fish, and the Westslope cutties are one of three subspecies native to the state, along with the Bonneville and Yellowstone cutthroat trout. If you’re looking for a little cutthroat inspiration, check out these cool native trout in the new short film "A Cutthroat Story" at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBhI7LihF0I. The smallest state record 'big fish' Here we go again with another Westslope cutthroat trout story, but this time it was tipping scales the other way. Chubbuck angler Spencer Smith was wetting a line up at Alpine Creek Lake #14 in the Sawtooth Mountains, enjoying a warm, August day with little to no hopes of hooking anything record-worthy. Now, before you accuse me of hot-spotting this one, Alpine Lake #14 isn’t your neighborhood fishing pond. You won’t find a parking lot, vault toilet, or even a campground for miles. This alpine mountain lake is like many other lakes found in the Sawtooth Mountains—remote, charming and holding mountain cutthroats. However, it happened to be Spencer Smith’s luck that fine August day when he hooked what he immediately thought might be a contender for a state certified-weight record Westslope cutthroat trout. While this trout’s size may not be impressive, the effort needed to certify it as a record sure it. Smith was successful in reeling in the 11-inch cutthroat, but then proceeded to pack the fish out of the mountains and had it weighed at a certified scale near his home. When the record application got dropped on Fish and Game Sportfish Coordinator Koenig’s desk later that week, the 0.56-pound fish marked the first Westslope cutthroat trout that made it into the certified-weight record books since 2016 when Fish and Game started keeping separate records for each sub-species (Westslope, Bonneville and Yellowstone cutthroat trout). "Back in 2016, we overhauled the State Record Fish Program and started awarding catch-and-release records, but we also made other changes," said Koenig. "One of those included making separate categories for each of the cutthroat trout sub-species. Westslope cutthroat are catch and release in most places, so it took a while before we got a certified-weight record application for a Westslope cutthroat trout.” Checking records in real-time Idaho’s list of certified weight state records is printed yearly in the Idaho Fishing Seasons and Regulations booklet, but a current list is available online at https://idfg.idaho.gov/fish/record . Catch-and-release records are now only updated online to reflect the most current status. Anglers can also scan the QR code found on the State Record Fish page in the regulations booklet with their mobile phones to see up-to-date info on record fish. See Page 68 of the new 2025-2027 regulations book or check out the State Record Fish webpage for details and how to apply. With anglers breaking records left and right, Fish and Game staff are working to keep state record information accessible and current.
AI This is my fourth and last blog on digital storage and memory projections for 2025. The first two articles focused on digital storage and memory devices including magnetic tape, HDDs, SSDs as well as NAND, DRAM and emerging non-volatile memories. The third was an update on optical storage, since several optical storage startups targeting the archiving and digital preservation market came to the forefront in 2024 and appear to be poised to deliver prototype products in 2025 and beyond. This article will focus on developments in storage systems and software and their use in workflows as well as additional insights on the future of storage devices and systems. 2024 saw the recovery of the overall storage and memory markets, although NAND flash and SSD markets have had only a partial recovery this year with most growth in the enterprise and data center markets. In September 2024 IDC released a report stating that the worldwide enterprise external OEM storage systems are expected to grow an average of 4.3% over a 5-year period. IDC attributed the growth to, “Positive developments and drivers for growing demand include increasing demand for flash storage (typically, all-flash arrays) to support projects related to artificial intelligence, both for training and inferencing” and “increasing demand for flash media across both external storage systems and servers.” They also say that IaaS solutions are leading more companies to repatriate or planning to repatriate workloads from shared cloud to dedicated IT environments. On the other hand, IDC, in another September report , forecast that 2024 cloud infrastructure spending (computing and storage) will grow 48.8% over 2023. Much of this spending growth was due to the increasing costs for GPU servers. Actual unit cloud growth in the same period was 17.7%. Shared cloud infrastructure spending is expected to grow 57.9% Y/Y with dedicated cloud infrastructure spending growth projected at 20.4% Y/Y. Non-cloud infrastructure spending is expected to grow 11.7% Y/Y. Long term, IDC predicts spending on cloud infrastructure (compute and storage) to have a compound growth rate 18.1 from 2023-2028 and accounting for 76.4% of total compute and storage infrastructure spending by 2028 with shared cloud infrastructure spending being 78.6% of total cloud spending by 2028. Samsung’s Android 15 Leak—Bad News For Nearly All Galaxy Owners Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Release Date Leaks Samsung Slashes Galaxy Z Fold 6 Price In Early January Sale Developing AI workloads will have an impact on storage and memory demand. Eric Herzog, CMO at Infinidat, said that Enterprise storage infrastructure will take on a new role as the foundation for retrieval-augmented generation, RAG. RAG is a GenAI-centric framework for augmenting, refining and optimizing the output of AI models including large language models, LLMs, and small language models, SLMs). RAG can eliminate the need for continually re-training models, reducing the costs of these models and can reduce the incidence of AI hallucinations. Infinidat announced its RAG workflow deployment architecture in November 2024. Infinidat is also joining efforts to defend data stores from cyberattacks. As part of its data protection capabilities. At the first sign of a cyberattack an immutable snapshot is taken of data to automatically reduce the impact of an attack. Infinidat also projects growth in hybrid multi-cloud storage in 2025. This brings together on-premises/private cloud and public cloud storage resources to enable high levels of flexibility, cost efficiency and use case-specific solutions. AWS and Azure are able to assist with such efforts. Infinidat announced such services with AWS and Microsoft in 2023 using the company’s InfuzeOS software defined storage, SDS, solution. Infinidat also says that non-VM based virtualization and Kubernetes/container deployments will increase in 2025. Steve Leeper, VP of Product Marketing at Datadobi, says that, “The amount of unstructured data stored in both public cloud and private cloud environments will continue to grow. The impact of unstructured data management solutions that give customers the ability to manage data no matter where it is located will increase as the data in multiple environments accumulates. It’s no longer realistic to ignore the fact that, in most organizations, data lives in a hybrid environment and global data management is required.” In addition, he indicated that with the growth of unstructured data there is a greater need for data insights to create GENAI-ready data. Don Boxley, CEO and co-founder of DH2i says that AI can be used to create self-optimized high availability, HA, clusters, where, “AI eliminates...inefficiencies by continuously analyzing workloads and resource usage, allowing clusters to self-optimize and maintain peak performance without manual oversight.” He also says that AI-driven HA clustering can help maintain HA across different cloud environments by managing clusters spanning multiple providers. Boxley says that, “AI simplifies cross-cloud HA by dynamically analyzing traffic and distributing workloads intelligently across providers, ensuring seamless performance and responsiveness.” AI data demand will increase the need for archiving data. Gal Naor, CEO of StorONE says that, “The exponential growth of data in 2025 will significantly increase storage costs as organizations face the challenge of retaining cold data for extended periods. Although rarely accessed, this data must remain secure, easily accessible and cost-efficient.” In addition, “Auto Tiering storage solutions will dynamically migrate inactive data to low-cost drives while ensuring rapid access for future analysis, reducing overall costs without compromising efficiency.” Also, “With rising cyber threats, fast and cost-effective recovery will be critical. Intelligent architectures will store snapshots on economical tiers while ensuring immediate availability for recovery, enhancing both preparedness and cost management.” Skip Levens, Product Leader and AI Strategist for Media and Entertainment at Quantum, had some comments on AI growth in 2025 and its impact on digital storage demand. He says that, “In 2025, organizations that take a more pragmatic approach to AI—and its underlying data infrastructure—will be best prepared to fuel new insights and power discovery.” He also talks about who the winners will be, “Those who are leading the data race are the ones who are not only leveraging every scrap of their collected data for differentiated AI outcomes, but those who have an infrastructure and process in place for effectively doing so—managing, organizing, indexing, and cataloging every piece of it. They’ll produce more, faster, and better results than their competitors. In 2025, we’ll start to see who leaps ahead in this new ‘data and algorithm arms race.” Members of the Active Archive Alliance also had comments related to the growth of archive data to support 2025 workflows. Rich Godomski, Head of Tape Evangelism with FujiFilm NA Corp., Data Storage Solutions, say that, “Sustainable active archive solutions with intelligent data management capabilities can leverage ultra energy efficient and extremely cost-effective tiers of storage such as S3 compatible object-based tape libraries. This will be needed to offset the voracious energy consumption of truly cutting-edge and breakthrough AI applications as the AI age evolves in 2025 and beyond.” Paul Luppino, Director of Global Digital Solutions at Iron Mountain, said that, “Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to revolutionize data storage and active archives by enhancing efficiency and accessibility. As data volumes soar, we can optimize storage management by predicting usage patterns and minimizing costs, potentially making decisions about how and where to store data at the point of creation. In the realm of active archives, AI can analyze and prioritize data, ensuring frequently accessed information is readily available while less critical data is stored cost-effectively. Automated classification, tagging, and indexing could simplify the search process, allowing for intelligent data handling.” Mark Pastor with Platform Product Management at Western Digital said that, “...disaggregated storage...has been proven to deliver the performance and capacity required to meet the requirements of demanding GPU-related workloads which are at the heart of AI and machine learning processes. Disaggregating storage from the server accomplishes two key things: (1) it enables storage to be shared across multiple servers offering greater flexibility and utilization of storage resources, and (2) demonstrations show that disaggregated storage delivers the performance needed to keep GPU processing fully saturated. Over time these external storage architectures will become standard with HDD for active archives and with flash for performance workloads and will ultimately migrate to fabric as opposed to SAS given the convenience and distance benefits of fabrics.” Jason Lohrey, CEO of Arcitecta also emphasized the value of fabric shared storage, saying that, “Businesses can maximize their existing investments and avoid vendor lock-in by leveraging a data fabric—an architecture that unifies cloud, disk, tape, and flash storage into a single, logical namespace. This trend towards virtualization allows for a more flexible approach to data management, enabling businesses to mix and match technologies to meet specific needs.” Ted Oade, Director of Product Marketing at Spectra Logic also talks about how archive storage practices can help create more sustainable AI workloads and create competitive advantages, “Modern tape storage is not only highly durable but also incredibly energy-efficient, particularly when compared to disk storage. By offloading cold data to tape in an active archive, data centers can free up energy for AI workloads, maximizing efficiency. As energy becomes a factor potentially limiting the growth of AI, businesses that embrace sustainable practices will gain a competitive edge in 2025 and beyond” 2025 promises increased demand for storage devices, systems and software to support the growth of AI data processing. AI will increasingly be used to make digital storage more efficient and safer. Digital storage and memory architectures may play an important role in more sustainable AI data centers.
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