English The global data center industry is experiencing unprecedented growth, driven by artificial intelligence (AI), cloud adoption, and enterprise digitalization. In Q1 2025, vacancy rates across major North American hubs fell to 6.6%, signaling an acceleration in demand outpacing supply. Northern Virginia, Atlanta, Chicago, and Phoenix lead the charge, with Atlanta’s capacity nearly tripling to 1,279 megawatts year-over-year, positioning it as a critical hub for AI-native and hyperscaler expansion.
This demand is being amplified by the rapid deployment of AI workloads and high-performance computing (HPC), which require significant processing power and energy. Traditional air-cooled environments are struggling to meet the heat loads from new GPU-intensive workloads. As a result, liquid cooling is emerging as a core feature of next-generation infrastructure, allowing higher rack density while improving energy efficiency.
Power access and sustainability have become decisive investment criteria. While legacy markets face limitations in electrical capacity, emerging destinations like Richmond, Virginia and Mumbai are stepping in to meet demand. Meanwhile, nuclear energy and natural gas are re-entering the strategic conversation as transitional fuels to offset renewable intermittency.
For Alliance Global Capital Fund, this is a unique moment to deploy capital toward high-performance, AI-centric data centers. Facilities offering renewable power, sovereign data compliance, and modular scalability stand to deliver superior long-term returns. Edge deployments, particularly in regulatory-sensitive markets, are poised for outsized demand as data localization policies proliferate.
