NBER paper analyzes financing of AI data centers

The National Bureau of Economic Research has published a working paper by Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh on financing the AI buildout.

• The paper estimates that a 1 GW AI campus costs about $41 billion, and that a 188 GW U.S. buildout by 2032 would require nearly $9 trillion in investment, equal to 3.2% of GDP annually over 2025–2032.
• It says financing is shifting toward leases, joint ventures, project debt, private credit, securitization, and special-purpose vehicles, and notes the paper is forthcoming in the Fall 2026 issue of the Brookings Papers of Economic Activity.