Welcome back to The Data Center Digest!
Back with a two-week mega edition - and trust me, the updates have been nothing short of extraordinary.
From the jaw-dropping $165 billion Project Jupiter in New Mexico that could redefine global AI infrastructure, to Meta’s $10B cloud deal with Google, and Vantage’s $25B hyperscale campus in Texas, the scale of investment and ambition in the data center world is reaching new heights.
We’ve also seen record-breaking construction spending, nuclear energy entering the mainstream, and sustainability becoming a deal-maker rather than a checkbox. Whether it’s billion-dollar builds, orbital data centers, or floating platforms in Japan.. the pace of innovation is relentless.
Grab a coffee (or something stronger), and let’s dive into the biggest stories, trends, and insights shaping the future of digital infrastructure before we all enjoy the holiday weekend!
Who Took Centre Stage This Fortnight?
BorderPlex Unveils $165 Billion Project Jupiter in New Mexico In what could be the largest data center investment in history, BorderPlex Digital Assets has announced Project Jupiter, a $165 billion hyperscale campus in Santa Teresa, New Mexico. The site will host four massive data centers powered by a dedicated microgrid, on-site generation, and battery storage. The project promises 750 permanent jobs, a closed-loop water recycling system, and $300 million in local payments over 30 years.Stack Infrastructure has joined the initiative, and a final vote by Doña Ana County is set for September 19. If approved, this project could redefine the global AI infrastructure landscape.
Meta & Google Cloud Sign $10B AI Infrastructure Deal Meta has signed a six-year, $10 billion cloud computing partnership with Google Cloud to support its hyperscale AI ambitions. The deal allows Meta to tap into Google’s infrastructure while continuing to build its own superclusters
Vantage Data Centers Launches $25B ‘Frontier’ Campus in Texas Vantage announced its largest investment yet: a 1.4GW hyperscale campus in Shackelford County, Texas. The 1,200-acre site will host 10 data centers and support ultra high-density racks of 250kW+, with liquid cooling and LEED certification in progress
Apollo Acquires Majority Stake in Stream Data Centers Apollo Funds will acquire a majority interest in Stream Data Centers, unlocking a 4GW development pipeline. The deal positions Stream to scale rapidly across Tier 1 and Tier 2 U.S. markets
Top Stories
Soluna Surpasses 1GW with Two New Clean-Powered Sites Soluna launched Project Fei and Project Gladys in Texas, pushing its renewable-powered data center capacity past 1GW. These solar-powered sites support high-intensity workloads like AI and crypto
Crusoe & atNorth Expand Iceland AI Campus Crusoe Cloud and atNorth are scaling their partnership at the ICE02 campus in Iceland, increasing capacity to 57MW. The site is optimized for sustainable AI workloads across Europe and North America
Equinix Bets on Nuclear Energy for AI Growth Equinix signed deals for over 1GW of advanced nuclear energy, including microreactors and fuel cells, to power its AI-ready data centers. This marks a bold move toward next-gen energy resilience
Google Commits $9B to Oklahoma AI Expansion Google will invest $9 billion to expand its AI infrastructure in Oklahoma, adding a new campus in Stillwater and expanding Pryor. The plan includes workforce training and sustainability goals
Regional Highlights
North America
- Yondr – Texas: Yondr Group is accelerating its U.S. expansion with a 550MW campus in Dallas. The site will support high-density AI workloads and is part of a broader strategy to scale in Tier 1 markets.
- Galaxy Digital – Texas: Galaxy secured $1.4B in financing for the Helios AI campus, which will focus on crypto and generative AI workloads. The project is expected to be one of the largest digital asset infrastructure builds in the region.
- Oracle & OpenAI – Texas: The Stargate project is expanding to 4.5GW, with Oracle and OpenAI deploying tens of thousands of Nvidia GPUs. This facility will be central to training next-gen AI models.
- Blue Owl – Pennsylvania: Blue Owl is backing CoreWeave’s Lancaster campus with $4B in funding. The $6B project will deliver high-performance compute capacity for AI and cloud clients.
- De Soto – Kansas: The city council approved a $700M data center, which will bring hundreds of jobs and support regional AI infrastructure growth.
- Novva – Nevada: Novva opened a 60MW, 300,000 sq.ft facility in Storey County, designed for high-efficiency cooling and modular scalability.
- Microsoft – Wyoming: Microsoft broke ground on a new campus in Cheyenne, part of its carbon-negative strategy and expansion into underserved regions.
- Thor Equities – Ohio: Thor acquired land for a 500MW data center development, targeting hyperscale tenants and AI workloads.
- Crusoe – U.S.: Crusoe is aiming for a $10B valuation and recently acquired a GPU startup to enhance its AI cloud offering.
- Aalo Atomics – U.S.: Aalo raised $100M to build a microreactor-powered data center, combining nuclear innovation with digital infrastructure.
- GI Partners – Flexential: GI Partners made a strategic investment in Flexential to expand its colocation and edge data center footprint across North America.
Europe
- AtlasEdge – Germany: AtlasEdge launched a 20MW facility in Stuttgart, marking its entry into Germany’s edge market and supporting latency-sensitive applications.
- Teesworks – UK: A 500,000 sq.ft data center is planned on the former steelworks site, part of a broader regeneration initiative in northeast England.
- Pinewood Group – UK: Pinewood is proposing a 55,000 sq.m data center in Slough, integrating a nature reserve to balance tech growth with environmental stewardship.
- Cambois – UK: Plans are in for phase one of a 6M sq.ft data center in Cambois, Northumberland, with significant economic and employment impact expected.
- Saxony-Anhalt – Germany: A billion-dollar hyperscale project has been proposed, aiming to position the region as a key AI infrastructure hub.
- Lahr – Germany: E-Werk and Leitwerk are collaborating on a new data center in Lahr, targeting enterprise and cloud clients.
- Austria – Google: Google is finally moving forward with its Austrian data center plans, 17 years after acquiring land, signaling renewed interest in Central Europe.
- Forssa – Finland: QTS is planning a new site in Forssa, expanding its Nordic footprint and tapping into Finland’s cool climate for energy efficiency.
- Goodman Group – Europe: Goodman launched a pan-European data center partnership to develop hyperscale campuses across key markets.
- Rayner – UK: Legal challenges have emerged over Rayner’s proposed AI data center on green belt land, raising environmental and planning concerns.
- Plean – UK: A £2B AI campus is under consultation in Plean, Scotland, with plans to support high-performance computing and local job creation.
- Green Mountain – Norway: Construction of the Hamar data center is generating significant economic impact, with hundreds of jobs and regional investment.
Middle East & Africa
- Visa – South Africa: Visa opened its first African data center in Johannesburg, a $57M investment aimed at improving latency and data sovereignty across the continent.
- Ooredoo – Oman: Ooredoo launched the Salalah data center and submarine cable landing station, enhancing regional connectivity and cloud access.
- Oman Data Park: The company is installing a 1.4MW solar array to power its data center, part of its sustainability roadmap.
- Digital Realty – Nigeria: Digital Realty opened its third Lagos facility, expanding its West African footprint and supporting enterprise cloud growth.
- Madari Space – Africa: Madari plans to launch the world’s first orbital data center in 2026, targeting satellite data processing and edge computing in space.
Asia-Pacific
- EdgeConneX – Japan: EdgeConneX acquired a second facility in Tokyo, reinforcing its presence in Japan’s high-demand cloud market.
- GLP – China: GLP secured 2.5B yuan to expand its data center business, focusing on hyperscale developments in Tier 1 cities.
- GIC – Singapore: Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund is exploring a partnership with Goodman Group to develop data centers across Asia-Pacific.
- Techno Digital – India: Techno Digital is investing $1B in hyperscale and edge campuses nationwide, aiming to support India’s growing AI ecosystem.
- Viettel – Vietnam: Viettel is building a $1B data center and R&D hub, positioning Vietnam as a regional tech leader.
- Bain Capital – China: Bain is considering a $4.2B bid for Chindata’s assets, signaling strong investor interest in China’s AI infrastructure.
- SK – South Korea: SK held a groundbreaking ceremony for its Ulsan AI data center, which will support national digital transformation goals.
- Equinix – Singapore: Equinix issued $505M in green bonds, part of a $9.5B global sustainability initiative.
- STACK – Malaysia: STACK is investing $1.66B in a Johor campus, designed for hyperscale cloud and AI workloads.
- Prestige Group – India: Prestige is developing a data center in Navi Mumbai, targeting enterprise and fintech clients.
- Mitsui OSK – Japan: Mitsui is building the world’s first floating data center platform, combining maritime infrastructure with digital innovation.
South America
- Dataspots – Brazil: Dataspots received grid approval for three data center projects totaling $2.8B, focused on AI and cloud services.
- ARSAT – Argentina: ARSAT is expanding its Buenos Aires facility with a multi-million-dollar investment to support national digital infrastructure.
- Mexico: Data centers are booming despite drought conditions, with developers innovating around water reuse and energy efficiency.
- Querétaro – Mexico: The state is emerging as a data center hub due to U.S. grid constraints and proximity to major fiber routes.
- MTP – Mexico: MTP launched phase two of its Merida edge site, enhancing regional connectivity and latency.
- Elea – Brazil: Elea won a $420M Petrobras tender and signed an MoU with Oracle and Rio City Hall to advance its data center strategy.
- PEC Energia – Brazil: PEC is exploring a data center project at the Serra das Vacas wind farm, integrating renewable energy with digital infrastructure.
- LATAM Market: The Latin American data center market could triple in size within 12 months, driven by AI, cloud, and regional demand for sovereign data hosting.
Industry Trend: Record Construction Spending
The U.S. data center industry is breaking records, with $2.4 billion in new construction starts in June alone and a 48% year-to-date increase, totaling $12.9 billion. This surge reflects the urgency to meet AI-driven demand, with developers prioritizing speed-to-power and scalable infrastructure. The South and Midwest are leading the charge, with Ohio, Georgia, and Arizona emerging as key hotspots thanks to available land, favorable energy markets, and growing tech ecosystems. As hyperscale projects grow in size and complexity, construction spending is expected to remain elevated well into 2026.
Industry Insight: Sustainability Is Now a Deal Driver
Sustainability has moved from a “nice-to-have” to a core requirement in data center development. Investors and hyperscalers are prioritizing projects with strong ESG credentials, including low-carbon construction, renewable energy sourcing, and innovative heat reuse strategies. From algae farms powered by waste heat to green bonds funding hyperscale builds, environmental performance is now influencing site selection, financing, and long-term viability. In today’s market, being green isn’t just ethical - it’s strategic.
That’s a wrap for this fortnight’s Digest – thanks for reading! If you’re hiring, scaling, or just curious about the future of AI infrastructure, I’d love to connect.
Enjoy your weekend, and see you next Friday! Lucy 👋
