Equinix Bets on Nuclear Power; NEXTDC Raises A$6.4B; LG CNS Targets Vietnam AI Hub
Welcome to Global Data Center Hub. Join investors, operators and innovators reading to stay ahead of the latest trends in the data center sector in developed and emerging markets globally.
If you’re not a subscriber, here’s what you’ve missed so far:
What H1 2025 Just Taught Us About the Next Decade of Data Centers [Strategic recap of the 15 most important shifts and what they signal about the road ahead.]
Hyperscale vs. Colocation: Strategic Portfolio Considerations for Data Center Investors [A deep dive into the tradeoffs between hyperscale and colocation strategies and how top investors are balancing both to optimize for returns, resilience, and exit optionality.]
Why Your First Data Center PPA Could Cost You Millions (If You Miss This One Detail) [First-time data center investors who rush into long-term energy deals might be walking straight into risks they don’t see coming.]
How the Best Teams Are Treating Power as a Competitive Advantage [Leading operators are moving beyond price per kW, treating energy strategy as a core differentiator across procurement, redundancy, and site selection.]
In This Issue
Global Data Center News Roundup – The biggest AI and cloud infrastructure developments shaping the industry this week.
The Physical Layer is Now Strategic – From nuclear reactors to brownfield redevelopments, control over land and power is emerging as the ultimate differentiator.
Sovereigns Are Building, Not Waiting – Governments from Gabon to the UK are no longer relying on hyperscalers alone, but actively developing digital infrastructure as national priorities.
Hyperscale Benchmarks Are Resetting – A$6.4B debt raises, AI factories, and Q4 CapEx outpacing entire prior years show just how fast the scale of investment is accelerating.
Dear Friends,
This week’s headlines reveal a global pivot from opportunistic growth to intentional control. Operators and governments alike are locking in structural advantages: new power technologies, sovereign-led projects, and multi-billion-dollar capital raises designed to secure long-term capacity.
Equinix’s embrace of nuclear and fuel cells, Gabon’s state-backed ground-breaking, and NEXTDC’s record financing all underscore the same theme: the winners of the AI infrastructure race will be those who treat power and land as strategic assets, not commodities.
For investors, operators, and policymakers, the risk isn’t missing the next announcement. It’s underestimating how fast the floor is rising. Yesterday’s extraordinary is fast becoming today’s minimum.
Global Perspective: What’s Happening in Data Centers Around the World
North America
Equinix Turns to Nuclear & Fuel Cells to Power AI Campuses
Equinix has partnered with Oklo, Radiant, ULC-Energy, Stellaria, and Bloom Energy to integrate micro-nuclear reactors and fuel cells into its data centers. The move secures long-term, on-site clean baseload and reduces exposure to grid congestion risks.
CoreWeave Q4 CapEx to Surpass First Three Quarters Combined
CoreWeave expects to spend more in Q4 2025 than in the prior three quarters together, underscoring its race to secure GPUs, power, and sites at scale. The aggressive outlay highlights both surging AI demand and the mounting financial strain of keeping pace with hyperscalers.
Digital Gateway Zoning Reversal Signals Regulatory Pushback in NoVA
Prince William County has revoked zoning for a major data center project in Northern Virginia. This rare setback increases the scarcity value of entitled, powered land in the world’s largest DC market.
Europe
Teesworks Brownfield Redevelopment to Host 500,000 m² Data Campus
The UK has approved plans to transform the former Teesworks steel site into one of Europe’s largest data center campuses. The project leverages industrial grid capacity and supports regional re-industrialization goals.
AVAIO Powers Up AI-Ready Algete Data Hub in Madrid
AVAIO Digital has reached a key development milestone at its fully powered Algete facility, securing immediate AI-ready capacity in Spain’s competitive DC market with proximity to subsea connectivity routes.
Asia-Pacific
NEXTDC Secures A$6.4B to Scale AI-Ready Australian Campuses
Australia’s largest-ever DC debt raise will finance NEXTDC’s expansion into AI-dense, liquid-cooled campuses in Perth and Sydney, offering relief to Singapore’s constrained hyperscale market.
LG CNS to Build Hyperscale AI Data Center in Vietnam
South Korea’s LG CNS will develop a hyperscale AI-ready campus in Vietnam, marking one of the strongest foreign hyperscale commitments to the country’s digital future. The project strengthens Vietnam’s role as a rising AI hub in Southeast Asia and deepens sovereign alignment with Hanoi’s infrastructure ambitions.
Macquarie Partners with Dell on AI Factory Rollout
Macquarie Data Centres and Dell will jointly launch AI Factories in Australia, bundling compute hardware, colocation, and managed services to speed enterprise AI adoption.
Middle East & Africa
Teraco Completes JB4 Hyperscale Expansion in Johannesburg
Teraco’s JB4 expansion strengthens Johannesburg’s position as Africa’s top interconnect hub, improving peering density and reducing latency for AI and cloud workloads across the continent.
Gabon Breaks Ground on First Capital-Area Data Center
Gabon has started construction on a new facility near Libreville, signaling government-led investment to improve national digital infrastructure and connectivity.
South America
Odata Expands Mexican Footprint with Fourth Hyperscale Facility
Odata has launched its fourth data center in Mexico, strengthening Querétaro’s emergence as a strategic regional hub for hyperscale and AI workloads.
Events
Platform Global, Antibes, 7-9 September: Register here.
Sponsored By:
Global Data Center Hub: Every week, we break down the trends shaping the future of data centers, cloud, and AI, from emerging markets to hyperscale battlegrounds.
Tell us what you thought of today’s email.
Good?
Ok?
Bad?
Hit reply and let us know why.
PS... If you're enjoying this newsletter, share it with a colleague.
Have a great rest of your weekend.
Global Data Center Hub