Feature
Every time you save a file to the cloud or ask an AI for answers, you are tapping into a data center.
A data center is a complex of servers, networking equipment and storage systems designed to process, store and distribute large amounts of data. They are critical to our digital world — and necessary to AI — and are increasingly in short supply as we lean more on the cloud and data-hungry AI. According to a McKinsey & Company study, between 2023 and 2030, global demand for data center capacity could rise at an annual rate between 19% and 22%.
For AI to grow and thrive, the world needs more data centers. “To avoid a deficit,” reads the report, “at least twice the data center capacity built since 2000 would have to be built in less than a quarter of the time.”
Tech companies are well aware and are working to build faster, bigger and better data centers as quickly as possible. In a recent blog post, Microsoft president Brad Smith called AI a world-changing “General-Purpose Technology.” It is the sort of technology breakthrough that causes huge economic growth, much as the steam engine, electricity and computers did before it. In answer to this need, Microsoft — already a considerable force in the data center market — plans to invest approximately $80 billion into data centers capable of training models and deploying AI and cloud-based applications. And they're not the only ones taking big strides. 10 Data Center Infrastructure Developments to Watch
As you might imagine, some of the biggest data center developments are coming from the most well-known tech companies in the world.
1. Google
Google's 28 data centers are spread around the world on five continents. In 2024, the company committed to investing billions toward increasing its footprint of data centers around the world, with the intent of building out the infrastructure it needs to power its cloud computing offerings and AI initiatives.
As part of this strategy, the company entered into a partnership with Intersect Power to develop data centers located near clean energy power generation stations to lessen the environmental impact and optimize use of power and the current power grid.
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2. Oracle
Oracle is one of the long-standing industry giants of cloud services and operates 160 data centers that are either currently live or under construction around the globe.
According to an earnings call in the first quarter of 2025, the company is working on a gigawatt-scale data center that will be powered by three modular reactors to address the out-of-control electricity demands of AI and data centers. Company CTO and chairman Larry Ellison told investors that the location had been selected for the data center, that it would be nuclear powered and heavily automated, but he did not share the location.
3. CyrusOne
CyrusOne is a global data center developer that provides state-of-the-art infrastructure for over 800 clients, many of whom are Fortune 1000 companies. The company’s headquarters are in Dallas, and it operates 48 data centers in the US, Europe and the UK.
In July of 2024, the company broke ground on a new facility in San Antonio, the company’s fifth in that city, bringing its investment in San Antonio alone to approximately $1 billion. Later that same year, CyrusOne also broke ground on its first data center in Japan. The company is a proponent of using nuclear power to feed the power-hungry data centers that support AI and has lined up $12 billion in financing and intends to use most of that to build new data centers in the US.
4. IBM Cloud
IBM Cloud has a network of data centers around the world. In September of 2024, it opened its first quantum data center outside the US in Ehningen. Germany, bringing its portfolio of data centers to 56.
IBM's data centers serve a wide range of customers, including AI and other industries. The new German facility will have two IBM Quantum Eagle-based systems and will eventually feature a Heron-based system. The Heron increases the power of an IBM quantum system 25-fold.
5. AWS
Amazon has 260 data centers scattered across the globe. The company announced plans to invest an estimated $11 billion to expand its already substantial infrastructure in Butts and Douglas counties in Georgia to facilitate the development of AI. The investment will bring technology infrastructure, as well as jobs in technology, construction and the data center supply chain.
6. Meta
Meta operates a global suite of data centers in Asia, Europe and the US, and is opening new centers at a staggering pace. The company plans to bring online around 1GW of compute power this year and to have a fleet of 1.3 million GPUs by the end of the year.
According to CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a Facebook post, the company plans to invest $60 to $65 billion in 2025, primarily on data centers and servers. This includes a $10 billion data center in Louisiana that is “so large it would cover a significant part of Manhattan.” Construction on that project will likely continue through 2030.
7. Equinix
Equinix operates 262 data centers worldwide. In November of 2024, it announced a new facility in Singapore to accelerate AI innovation in that region. The expansion will cost $260 million and will speed the growth of an already fast-growing digital economy. This will be the company’s sixth international data exchange (IBX) data center in Singapore and will house a state-of-the-art, sustainably driven design capable of handling intense AI workloads. The facility is expected to open in early 2027.
8. Digital Realty
Digital Realty is a provider of cloud and carrier-neutral data centers, with 277 data centers around the world. In February of 2025, the company announced the activation of a point of presence (PoP) — a location where communication devices share a connection and where data can be accessed and exchanged between networks.
This development will be in collaboration with EXA Infrastructure and is intended to support the development of Digital Realty’s first data center in Crete, which the company expects to become operational this year. This infrastructure addresses a shortfall in such technology in the region and will turn Crete into a major connectivity hub, taking advantage of Greece’s geography to optimize traffic between Europe and the rest of the world.
Related Article: Generative AI Is Pushing the Limits of the Power Grid
9. EdgeNex
The Dubai-headquartered EDGNEX Data Centers by DAMAC recently announced plans to enter into data centers in the US. This is a significant expansion for the company. It aims to build state-of-the-art data centers in American sunbelt states — Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma and Louisiana — along with the Midwest, including Ohio, Illinois, Michigan and Indiana.
The company announced an initial investment of $20 billion and has hinted at doubling that amount if demand warrants it. This data center business is wholly owned by the Middle Eastern real estate company DAMAC.
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10. China Telecom
With 363 data centers around the world, including in the US, China Telecom already has a big footprint in the data center space.
The company continues to build out new data centers and, in November of 2024, broke ground on a new data center in Huainan City, China. The effort involves a $13.8 million investment and will have the capacity to host 1,000 racks. This will help speed the digital transformation of this region.
