OpenAI’s Trillion-Dollar Vision; Germany Backs 500MW Solar; STACK Bets $1.6B on Johor; Brazil Opens National DC Plan; Lagos Expands with Digital Realty
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:
Top 15 Reports Shaping Global Data Center Strategy in H1 2025 [From AI’s power problem to the $73B M&A wave this is your midyear map for data center investing]
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.]
Fiber and Connectivity Bottlenecks (Part 1): The Hidden Crisis That Could Derail the Global AI Infrastructure Boom [Power isn't the only bottleneck threatening data center investors. The fiber crunch is quietly becoming the biggest risk to ROI and the smartest investors are adapting fast.]
In This Issue
Global Data Center News Roundup – From OpenAI’s trillion-dollar forecast to Brazil’s sovereign consultation, the biggest developments shaping the global AI and cloud infrastructure map.
The Physical Layer is Now Strategic – Texas’s $25B Frontier campus, Germany’s 500MW solar-backed project, and Mexico’s power shortfalls highlight how land, power, and financing are now the ultimate differentiators.
Sovereigns Are Building, Not Waiting – From Ireland’s €3B approval to Brazil’s national consultation and Nigeria’s expanded footprint, governments are embedding compute into policy frameworks instead of leaving growth solely to hyperscalers.
Hyperscale Benchmarks Are Resetting – $23B debt packages, $15B global pipelines, and orbital data center plans show how quickly yesterday’s extremes are becoming today’s baselines.
Dear Friends,
This week’s headlines confirm that AI infrastructure is entering a new phase: one where scale is matched by intentional control. Capital markets, sovereigns, and operators are converging on a shared playbook: secure power, anchor land, and finance at levels once reserved for nation-state projects.
OpenAI’s trillion-dollar forecast, Vantage’s record Texas build, and Brazil’s national consultation illustrate how the race is no longer about opportunistic expansion. It’s about locking in durable capacity through sovereign alignment, renewable integration, and financing structures that redefine the sector.
For investors, operators, and policymakers, the challenge isn’t spotting the next announcement. It’s recognizing how fast the minimum threshold is rising. Yesterday’s extraordinary is today’s starting line.
Global Perspective: What’s Happening in Data Centers Around the World
North America
1. OpenAI’s Trillion-Dollar Infrastructure Vision Redraws AI’s Future
Sam Altman’s claim that OpenAI will spend “trillions” on data centers reframes AI as a capital infrastructure race rather than a software sprint. If true, this puts hyperscalers, sovereign funds, and energy producers in direct competition to bankroll the backbone of intelligence. The risk: the bubble pops before the power, land, and chips are in place.
2. Vantage’s $25B Frontier Campus Positions Texas as AI’s New Capital
Vantage Data Centers has announced Frontier, a $25B mega-campus in Texas that cements the state as a rival to Virginia’s data center corridor. Beyond scale, the project highlights ERCOT’s central role in balancing AI-driven grid demand with renewables integration.
3. JPMorgan and MUFG Anchor $23B Debt Package for Data Center Expansion
In a watershed financing moment, major banks are backing a single data center campus with $23B in loans. This elevates data centers into the league of utilities and transportation when it comes to institutional debt appetite signaling mainstream financialization of AI infrastructure.
Europe
1. Germany Bets on 500MW Solar-Backed AI Campus in Weida-Land
Germany is pairing a half-gigawatt solar project with an AI-ready data campus, reflecting Europe’s push to lead in sustainable digital infrastructure. The project doubles as both an energy transition milestone and a sovereignty play in the AI race.
2. Ireland’s $3B Kildare Campus Survives Political Pushback
After years of objections, Kildare’s €3B hyperscale campus has cleared another planning hurdle, though opposition remains strong. The approval underscores Ireland’s delicate balance: attracting hyperscale investment while facing domestic resistance on land, power, and water.
3. Goodman Expands into European Data Centres With Strategic JV
Logistics giant Goodman Group is formally entering Europe’s DC market through a new partnership, expanding its global pivot from warehousing to compute. It signals that institutional real estate players see AI infrastructure as the next “must-own” asset class.
Asia-Pacific
1. STACK Commits $1.66B to Johor, Malaysia Amid Singapore Spillover
Johor has become Southeast Asia’s breakout data center hub as STACK launches one of the region’s largest foreign-backed investments. Singapore’s capacity caps are reshaping the regional map, with Malaysia positioning itself as the overflow destination of choice.
2. Goodman’s $15B Global Pipeline Anchored by Asia Data Centres
Goodman is redirecting billions from logistics toward digital infrastructure, with Asia as a cornerstone. Its pivot demonstrates how traditional REITs are revaluing compute capacity on par with industrial property.
3. Prestige Group to Develop AI-Ready Data Center in Navi Mumbai
Indian real estate giant Prestige Group is entering the digital infrastructure race with a new hyperscale facility in Navi Mumbai. The project underscores how India’s property developers are pivoting into data centers as AI demand surges, and highlights Navi Mumbai’s rise as a Tier 1 hub alongside Chennai, Noida, and Hyderabad.
Middle East & Africa
1. Digital Realty Expands Lagos Footprint With Third Facility
Lagos is rapidly emerging as West Africa’s digital command center, and Digital Realty’s latest campus deepens its commitment. The move reflects both Nigeria’s growing digital economy and the global shift of hyperscalers into Africa’s high-growth but power-constrained markets.
2. Madari Space Eyes Orbital Data Centre by 2026
A bold plan to launch the world’s first orbital data center underscores how MEA players are leaping beyond terrestrial limits. If successful, this could solve land, cooling, and sovereignty challenges while raising new regulatory and security questions.
South America
1. Brazil’s Launches Consultation on National Data Center Strategy
Brazil has opened a public consultation on a major data center plan, signaling that digital infrastructure is moving up the ladder of national policy priorities. By anchoring strategy at the federal level, Brazil is positioning itself to shape how power, connectivity, and AI workloads are deployed across Latin America.
2. Mexico’s Data Center Growth Bottlenecked by Power Supply
Mexico’s expanding DC sector faces a critical challenge: grid generation isn’t keeping pace with hyperscale demand. The mismatch could slow growth in Querétaro and Mérida, regions otherwise poised to be Latin America’s next AI infrastructure hubs.
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