Our CEO just shared the following on LI.The excitement...

Our CEO just shared the following on LI.

The excitement surrounding artificial intelligence is fueling a significant expansion in the commercial real estate sector, particularly in data centers. Developers are racing to construct data centers equipped with the robust power and cooling systems necessary for AI servers.

Notably, Blackstone has grown its data center development pipeline from $1 billion to over $15 billion in just two years. Investment firms like PGIM Real Estate and IPI Partners are also raising substantial funds dedicated to data centers.

Marc Ganzi chief executive of DigitalBridge has been investing in data centers for 29 years. “And I’ve never seen a market demand backdrop like we’re seeing today,” he said. DigitalBridge is planning to add data centers with one to two gigawatts of capacity each year for the next five years. Ganzi estimated that AI makes up about 20% of DigitalBridge’s demand today with the rest mostly coming from cloud-computing businesses. “We just don’t see this slowing down,” he said.

Tech giants such as Google, Microsoft and Amazon Web Services (AWS) are leasing substantial capacity in North American data centers, surpassing previous records. The data center industry is planning 15 gigawatts of new capacity in North America, enough to power around four million homes. AI computing's complexity, like OpenAI ChatGPT, requires more power and cooling, setting data centers apart from struggling commercial real estate sectors.

While data centers are thriving, they face challenges such as securing future electricity sources for power-hungry AI systems and environmental concerns. Despite obstacles, the demand for data centers remains strong, driven by AI and cloud computing, and efforts are underway to address power needs through technology and renewable sources.#ai #digitalinfrastructure