Data Centres Briefings

Taiwan just printed a number that should make anyone tracking AI infrastructure sit up: January export orders hit a record US$76.91 billion, up 60.1% year-on-year, with the government explicitly pointing to AI-related servers and cloud demand as key drivers. The Lunar New Year base effects helped, but the composition of the growth is the tell — the plumbing of AI is showing up in hard trade data.

The Big Stories

​Taiwan January export orders hit record US$76.91 billion is the cleanest “AI capex is real” datapoint we’ve had in a while. The Ministry of Economic Affairs said export orders surged 60.1% YoY to US$76.91 billion, with information and communications orders jumping 102.0% to US$25.15 billion and electronic product orders rising

The most telling signal today wasn’t a new campus or a fresh funding round — it was politics catching up with physics. President Trump’s nonbinding “Rate Payer Protection Pledge” for data centers would push hyperscalers to bring on-site power and pay for grid upgrades, with Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and xAI signing on. The catch is buried in the fine print: experts are already warning interconnection and permitting routinely run 5+ years, so “new power” simply won’t show up in time for 2027–2028 demand.

The Big Stories

The White House-backed pledge is a political attempt to stop data centers from becoming the villain in retail electricity bills. The pledge asks hyperscalers to supply on-site energy and cover grid

North American data centre demand may be red-hot, but the build machine is starting to choke on permits and power. CBRE says capacity under construction has slipped to 5,994.4MW (down 5.5% vs 2024) because zoning, permitting, and power-sourcing delays are stalling projects—and grid capacity is “largely booked through 2030.” That dovetails neatly with what’s happening on the ground: utilities are now planning multi-gigawatt transmission specifically to feed future data centre clusters.

The Big Stories

CBRE: Permitting and power delays constrain North American data center construction is the cleanest snapshot of the market’s new bottleneck. Despite record demand in 2025, CBRE points to project slowdowns driven by permitting, zoning, and—

The most fragile part of “cloud resilience” isn’t software — it’s geography. Drone strikes damaged multiple AWS Availability Zones in the Gulf, taking two UAE zones offline and impacting one in Bahrain, and suddenly every board-level conversation about AI uptime has a new line item: what happens when a whole campus is a target.

That shock lands on the same day as a huge power-capital deal for the data-centre supply chain, and a White House-friendly pledge from Google that (quietly) tries to rewrite who pays for grid upgrades.

The Big Stories

AES is being taken private in a $33.4bn enterprise-value deal by a GIP- and EQT-led consortium that also includes CalPERS and Qatar’s sovereign we

Akamai is making a very loud bet that AI inference won’t live only in hyperscale campuses. With a plan to deploy “thousands” of Nvidia Blackwell GPUs across 4,000+ locations, it’s pitching a decentralised inference fabric that it claims can cut latency by up to 2.5x and reduce inference costs by up to 86% versus hyperscalers. If that number is even directionally right, it’s less a product launch than a direct challenge to where AI margins sit—and who captures them.

The Big Stories

Akamai to deploy Nvidia Blackwell GPUs across 4,000+ locations is the most consequential move in today’s stack of announcements because it reframes “AI infrastructure” as an edge distribution problem, not a campus arms race. Akamai says it will ro

BlackRock’s GIP and EQT agreeing to buy AES for a $33.4bn enterprise value is a reminder that the “data centre power” trade has moved from project finance to platform finance. If you believe data-centre-driven load growth is durable, owning the utility/renewables developer starts to look less like an ESG bet and more like basic supply security. The interesting wrinkle: this lands on a day when the IEA is effectively warning grids are already struggling with the operational side of electrification, not just the capex side.

The Big Stories

GIP and EQT to acquire AES for $33.4 billion is the headline deal. The consortium (with CalPERS and QIA as co-underwriters) is paying $15.00/share for a $10.7bn equity value, with $22.7bn of net debt,

NeevCloud and Agnikul just sketched out one of the more audacious “data centre” ideas we’ve seen in a while: AI inference infrastructure in low‑Earth orbit, starting with a pilot mission and scaling to a constellation of up to 600 satellites over three years. If they can even partially deliver—10–15 kW per satellite, solar powered, radiation‑hardened ASICs, and sub‑10 ms latency targets—the implication is that the edge is no longer just “near the user.” It’s literally above them.

The Big Stories

NeevCloud and Agnikul propose orbital AI data centres in LEO after signing an MoU in February to deploy AI inference infrastructure at ~300 km altitude. The plan centres on defence and remote applications, pitching sub‑10 ms inference laten

The most consequential shift today isn’t a new campus or a power deal — it’s policy whiplash. The Trump administration’s move to revoke the 2009 “endangerment finding” blows a hole in the federal legal foundation for greenhouse-gas regulation, and that kind of legal ambiguity tends to freeze capital in place. For AI data centres already fighting for power and water, the biggest risk isn’t ideology; it’s delays, litigation, and a more chaotic permitting backdrop.

The Big Stories

Trump revokes endangerment finding, risks public health and data centres. The White House is calling this the “largest deregulation in American history,” but the practical near-term effect for infrastructure investors is uncertainty: if the regulatory basis for

Equinix is buying its way deeper into the Nordic AI buildout. In a $4.0bn enterprise-value deal, CPP Investments and Equinix to acquire atNorth for $4B gives Equinix a ~40% stake in a platform that already controls 1GW of secured power across eight sites in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. The subtext: in power-constrained markets, “secured power” is increasingly the only currency that matters.

The Big Stories

The atNorth acquisition is a clear signal that the next phase of data centre consolidation will be led by buyers who want ready-made power positions, not just real estate. CPP will own ~60% and Equinix ~40%, and the buyers have provisionally lined up a $4.2bn financing package underwritten by European and Canadian l

Amazon is about to drop $12 billion on interconnected data centre campuses across Caddo and Bossier Parishes, Louisiana — and it’s not arriving alone. In the same state, Hut 8 is lining up a separate $2.8 billion build, turning Louisiana into the latest proof point that “new” US data centre markets are being picked as much for infrastructure deal mechanics (power, water, who pays) as for latency maps. The throughline today: grid cost allocation, water optics, and financing structures are now shaping where megawatts land.

The Big Stories

Amazon to build $12 billion multi-site data center campus in Louisiana is the kind of announcement that quietly rewires a region’s infrastructure priorities. Amazon plans interconnected

Google just turned “clean power for a data centre” into a full-blown utility resource plan. In Minnesota, Google and Xcel Energy agreed to add 1.9GW of clean energy tied to Google’s proposed Pine Island data centre — including a 300MW (30GWh) iron-air battery from Form Energy — with Google paying for its electricity use and grid upgrades and putting $50m into Xcel’s Capacity*Connect programme (pending regulator approval). This is what the next phase of hyperscale growth looks like: not just PPAs, but bespoke capacity builds that try to pre-empt the politics of higher bills and strained grids.

The Big Stories

The Minnesota deal is notable for what it bundles: 1.4GW of wind, 200MW of solar, and 300MW of 100-hour storage, all framed expli

Meta just handed AMD a headline-sized wedge into the AI data center stack: a multiyear agreement for up to 6GW of AI capacity built around custom Instinct MI450 GPUs. If you’ve been wondering what “AI demand” looks like in purchase-order form, this is it — and the performance-based warrant structure is a tell that hyperscalers want suppliers to share execution risk, not just cash the cheque.

The Big Stories

AMD to supply 6 GW AI capacity to Meta is the clearest signal yet that “alternative GPU ecosystems” are moving from slideware to deployment plans. The deal is for up to 6GW of AI capacity using custom Instinct MI450 GPUs in Helios servers paired with EPYC CPUs, with deployments starting later this year. AMD also issued Meta perf

The sharpest tell in today’s tape is how quickly the power-and-gear supply chain is being pulled into the data centre boom. In one place, the numbers are almost comical: Vertiv says Q4 orders jumped 252%, with data centres now 80–85% of revenue and backlog covering more than 100% of its 2026 sales guidance. When Vertiv, Eaton, GE Vernova and Legrand all talk about swelling backlogs while hyperscalers plan $650bn of data-centre and power-equipment spend this year, “AI buildout” stops being a narrative and starts being an industrial cycle.

The Big Stories

The clearest near-term winners are the firms that touch every MW of new compute. [Electrical equipment makers Vertiv, Eaton, GE Vernova and Legrand reported large order increases an

Vertiv, Eaton, GE Vernova and Legrand aren’t just “benefiting” from data centre growth — they’re getting dragged into it at full speed. In one of the cleanest demand signals you’ll see, Vertiv’s Q4 orders jumped 252% and its backlog now covers more than 100% of its 2026 sales guidance, on a day when the industry is being told hyperscalers plan $650bn of data-centre and power-equipment spending this year. That kind of pull-through changes who has leverage in the stack: not the operator, but the people who can actually ship switchgear, UPS, thermal, and grid gear.

The Big Stories

Electrical equipment makers race to serve booming data centers lays out just how fast the “pick-and-shovel” side is tightening. Vertiv says data centres are

Top news (3)

1. Virginia lawmakers consider tighter oversight of high-load interconnections and transmission cost allocation. Virginia pushes SB619 and SB339 to reform data centers highlights proposed State Corporation Commission (SCC) oversight for large data centre interconnections and a mandated review/adjustment of how transmission costs are allocated—against a backdrop of >US$28bn in forecast transmission costs by 2040 (Dominion Energy) and reported 70 GW+ of contracted data centre load in the state.

2. Ohio proposes a state-level study commission as data centre growth accelerates. Data centers in Ohio: Economic boost or environmental burden? notes House Bill 646 wou

Top news (3)

• Virginia bills seek oversight and cost allocation for data centers: Two Virginia bills (SB 619 and SB 339) passed crossover and would (i) require State Corporation Commission (SCC) oversight for “high-load” data centers via a Certificate of Operation for facilities ≥90MW, and (ii) reallocate transmission costs toward large-load users. SB 339 cites up to $28bn in transmission costs and $100–$300bn in capex.

• Trump-backed Ohio gas plant could become largest US polluter: A proposed 9.2GW gas-fired plant in Ohio—reportedly led by SoftBank, valued at about $33bn—is framed as supporting growing data-centre demand in PJM. Analysts estimate potent

Top news (3)

• US grid: new transmission rebuild proposals in Virginia. Dominion proposes 230 kV line rebuilds near Charlottesville, Gordonsville covering ~22.3 miles (Dooms–Charlottesville) and ~20 miles (Charlottesville–Gordonsville), framed as responding to regional demand from data centres.
• UK social licence: waste-heat reuse materially improves sentiment. Two-thirds of Brits favor local data centres using waste heat reports 66.8% would view nearby data centres more favourably if waste heat is used for local heat networks.
• Energy security focus: governments linking demand growth to data centres/AI. [Japan official attends IEA ministerial on energy security](https://tel

G42 is about to reset the scale conversation in India. The UAE AI group has signed a term sheet with C‑DAC to deploy an 8 exaflop national AI supercomputer cluster hosted in-country — nearly 19x the combined peak of AIRAWAT and PARAM Siddhi-AI — with Cerebras and MBZUAI involved, and an explicit promise that all data stays in India. That’s not just a bigger machine; it’s a statement about where AI compute (and control) is meant to live.

The Big Stories

G42 finalises term sheet for an 8 exaflop AI supercomputer cluster hosted in India with C‑DAC, partnering with Cerebras and MBZUAI, and positioning the system as open to startups plus public/private entities — while keeping data sovereign. The headline number matters because

Top news (3)

1. India: hyperscale + subsea scale-up – Google announces $15B India AI infrastructure investment in Vizag, centred on a “full-stack AI hub” in Visakhapatnam with gigawatt-scale compute and an international subsea cable gateway.

2. Firming power: commercial enhanced geothermal at meaningful size – Enhanced geothermal systems could expand U.S. geothermal power generation details Fervo Energy’s 53 MW Cape Generating Station (first large-scale commercial EGS generator in the US) and expansion-linked PPAs totaling 320 MW with Southern California Edison.

3. UK: AI funding tied to compute upgrades – [UKRI launches first-ever AI Research and Innovation

Top news (3)

1. Large India build-out signal: Google announces AI investments and partnerships at India summit including $15bn for foundational AI infrastructure and new America–India Connect fibre routes linking the U.S., India and Southern Hemisphere locations.

2. Big-ticket power for AI data centres: Japan and U.S. agree first Strategic Investment Initiative projects includes a gas-fired power project for AI data centers (~$33.3bn) as part of the first tranche.

3. Virginia gas + transmission line controversy: Tenaska gas plant proposal threatens Virginia communities, data centres — Tenaska is appealing a c