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Data Center News Roundup: AI Partnerships and Brand-New Builds
In this week's top data center news, we look at an influx of construction deals around the world alongside AI partnerships across the US public and private sectors.
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With data center news moving faster than ever, we want to make it easy for industry professionals to cut through the noise and find the most important stories of the week.
The Data Center Knowledge News Roundup brings you the latest news and developments across the data center industry – from investments and mergers to security threats and industry trends.
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AI Partnerships and Investments
At the top of this week’s news, BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners, Microsoft, and MGX announced an infrastructure investment agreement to drive the construction and expansion of US data centers. The Global AI Infrastructure Investment Partnership (GAIIP) will seek to unlock $30 billion of private equity capital.
According to a joint statement, the funds will be used to “make investments in new and expanded data centers to meet growing demand for computing power, as well as energy infrastructure to create new sources of power for these facilities.”
Recent projections expect the global AI server market to grow at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 18.5% over the next eight years, surpassing $180 billion by 2032.
Said Larry Fink, Chairman and CEO of BlackRock: “Mobilizing private capital to build AI infrastructure like data centers and power will unlock a multi-trillion-dollar long-term investment opportunity.”
Meanwhile, following discussions last week between senior Biden administration officials and AI industry leaders, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, the White House announced its own AI-related partnership: an interagency task force to promote and accelerate US data center development.
New Data Center Deals
In this week’s development deals, Singapore-based Princeton Digital acquired land in Johor, Malaysia, Jakarta, Indonesia, and Mumbai and Chennai, India, as part of a $5 billion AI investment program across the next 12 to 18 months.
“By securing access and road map to full power in these locations, we continue to be positioned to meet the Pan Asia customer demand for scalable, AI-ready data center capacity,” said CEO Rangu Salgame.
In Europe, EcoDataCenter announced a new ‘mega campus’ on the site of a former Swedish papermill plant. The 240 MW Borlänge facility is expected to open in 2027.
Elsewhere on the continent, Bilbao-based utility company Iberdrola is reportedly in talks to strike a deal to provide a grid connection and renewable pumped-storage hydropower in exchange for equity in a proposed Spanish data center facility.
In the United States, Town Lane and PowerHouse Data Centers have joined forces to acquire 122 acres of land for a data center campus in Charlotte, North Carolina. Less than 10 miles from downtown Charlotte, the 2.5 million sq ft facility will consist of five data center shells and 300 MW of secured critical power.
“The site is ideally located with near-term power already secured, offering unparalleled opportunity, connectivity, and access to carbon-free power,” said PowerHouse CEO Doug Fleit.
Meanwhile, DataBank announced the development of a 480 MW data center campus in Red Oak, Texas. The 292-acre South Dallas "Red Oak Campus" will accommodate up to eight 2-story data centers. Construction is already in progress, and the company expects an initial Ready for Service date in Q2-2026.
Finally, in Brazil, Scala Data Centers struck a deal with the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul to build the “largest digital infrastructure project in South America.” The “data center city” (Scala AI City) will be located in the metro region of the state’s capital of Porto Alegre. With an initial IT capacity of 54 MW, the project has the potential to reach 4,750 MW across 1,730 acres.
Other Great Reads on DCK This Week
How LLMs on the Edge Could Help Solve the AI Data Center Problem. Locally run AI systems, known as LLMs on the edge, could help ease the strain on data centers, but it may take some time before this approach goes mainstream, writes Drew Robb.
What Is Green Storage and How Can Your Data Center Implement It? From Christopher Tozzi, discover what green storage means for data centers and how implementing it can enhance sustainability and energy efficiency.
Building a More Sustainable Data Center: Challenges and Opportunities in the AI Era. Data centers are under pressure to meet the demands of AI while improving sustainability. Stephen Lawton explores the challenges and opportunities shaping this transformation.
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