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Data Center News Roundup: AI Market Growth and New Builds
In this week's top data center news, Equinix sees strong Q2 results amid AI boom, and new deals and construction announced by Princeton Digital, AWS, and TierPoint.
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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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Market Growth in AI and Data Center Generators
According to a new S&P Global Ratings report, global AI spending, particularly in the data center space, is expected to grow over 20% through 2028 to make up 14% of total IT spending.
“Cloud giants are heavily investing in AI despite uncertain monetization timelines, with combined capital spending for Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta up 60% year over year,” said S&P Technology Director Christian Frank.
Additionally, AI chips drove growth in the semiconductor sector. Between Intel and AMD, data center chips revenue grew 31% year over year and 9.4% quarter over quarter.
Finally, a new study from Global Market Insights found the data center generator market, too, is set to grow over the next eight years, doubling its current market value to over $2.1 billion by 2032. Faced with aging infrastructure and an increase in extreme weather events, data centers are deploying backup power systems — primarily in the form of generators — to avert power outages.
Equinix Expansion
Buoyed by the continued demand for AI infrastructure services, Equinix saw particularly strong Q2 growth amid the industry’s crowded field of hyperscale operators.
In recent months, Equinix announced plans to enter the Philippines market, opened its first data center in Johor, Malaysia, and broke ground on a new data center in Lisbon, Portugal.
“Business transformation remains a critical priority for our customers and the emergence of AI marks a pivotal point for our industry," Equinix CEO Adaire Fox-Martin said during his company’s August 7 earnings call. “AI, similar to the growth of cloud technologies a decade ago, will take time to fully develop.”
Equinix’s Q2 2024 revenues surpassed $2.2 billion, an 8% year-over-year growth for the Redwood City, California-based company.
This Week’s Data Center Deals and Developments
At the top of this week’s data center development news, Princeton Digital Group acquired a Yahoo data center in western Singapore for an undisclosed price tag. According to a Tuesday press release, Yahoo will continue to host its infrastructure at the 5 MW facility near Jurong Port.
Meanwhile, in India, Aurum Equity Partners, a real estate investment firm, announced plans to build a 100 MW $400 million AI-powered green data center in Hyderabad.
“Our next-generation data center framework is designed to bridge the digital divide between rural and urban India. This initiative will make government services such as e-Seva, e-Payment, and e-Education accessible to all, supporting our mission to connect every corner of the nation,” said Aurum CEO and Chairman Venkat Bussa.
Across the pond, in the United States, the construction of a $1.1 billion AWS data center was approved by the St. Joseph County Council in Indiana by a 7-2 vote. While advocates point to the project’s potential to create jobs and contribute to the local economy, opponents criticized a 10-year 4.2 billion dollars tax break for one of the world’s richest corporations.
In Missouri, TierPoint acquired a building in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, to establish its newest data center facility. Constructed in 1917 as an automobile dealership and distribution center for the Willys-Overland Company, the building offers 22,600 sq ft of data center production space and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
TierPoint’s acquisition follows a trend of data centers occupying often-vacant downtown office buildings in the name of revitalization. While these offer an economic boon – especially in cities facing depopulation and private disinvestment – they often come at the sacrifice of people-oriented development.
“We know that revitalizing Downtown to make it the safe, vibrant, and beautiful neighborhood at the heart of our metro will take time. We also know that it will take a new way of thinking that diversifies the types of businesses and residential offerings here,” said Kurt Weigle, chief downtown officer for Greater St. Louis, Inc.
Finally, newcomer Edged Energy continues its expansion across the States with a 24 MW project in the Columbus, Ohio area. Already under development, the 210,000 square-foot facility, which will support generative AI and advanced computing demands, is scheduled to open July 2025.
Other Great Reads in DCK This Week
The Biggest Threats to Data Center Uptime – and How to Overcome Them. Power failures, cooling issues, and third-party providers are some of the biggest threats to data center uptime in 2024. Learn how to mitigate these risks effectively.
Assessing the State of Data Center Supply Chains in H2 2024. The data center supply chain is showing signs of improvement, but it still faces significant challenges. Explore the current trends and issues shaping the industry.
Beyond Diversity Training: The Real Challenges for Women in Tech. Despite the renewed focus on DEI, progress for women in tech remains stalled. The industry must rethink its approach to address the unique challenges women face, writes Carrie Goetz.
Critical AWS Vulnerabilities Allow S3 Attack Bonanza. Researchers at Aqua Security discovered flaws where threat actors can guess the name of S3 buckets based on their public account IDs.
Quantum Computing Making Progress Faster Than Expected. QuEra survey finds that 40% of experts say quantum technology will outperform classical in five years.
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