The global data center market continued its rapid expansion in May 2026, driven by surging demand for artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and high-performance workloads. Across North America, Europe, and Asia, developers announced and advanced multi-gigawatt campuses, hyperscale facilities, and AI-focused infrastructure, with investments reaching tens of billions of dollars.

From new large-scale data center projects in the US and Europe to emerging AI hubs in Brazil and the UK, the operators are scaling capacity while integrating sustainable power and advanced cooling technologies.

New Data Center Developments in North America

Project Caprock - Aligned Data Centers

A 540 MW, 313-acre hyperscale campus in Hale County, Texas comprising six facilities. Aligned is self-funding dedicated electrical infrastructure in partnership with Xcel Energy to protect local ratepayers, and deploying proprietary DeltaFlow liquid cooling. 

The first building (LBB-01) targets Q1 2027 service and the full campus is projected to inject USD 5 Billion into the regional economy. Project Caprock, one of the largest data centers in Texas, is Designed for AI and cloud workloads at density.

Joliet Technology Center PowerHouse Data Centers / Hillwood

A USD 20 Billion, 795-acre campus approved by Joliet City Council spanning 24 buildings and reaching up to 1.8 GW at full buildout. One of the largest data center projects in Illinois history with single-site approval, it anchors a broader push into Midwest markets where land and power are less constrained than in Northern Virginia. The timeline is multi-year and phased.

Northern Virginia hyperscale pair - EdgeCore Digital Infrastructure

Two single-tenant hyperscale data centers in Northern Virginia backed by USD 1.5 Billion in newly closed financing. The facilities are designed as dedicated campuses for a single anchor tenant, a structure increasingly preferred by hyperscalers seeking long-term capacity certainty in the world's densest data center market.

Beacon Point AI campus - Hut 8

A former Bitcoin mining campus in Nueces County, Texas repurposed for AI training and inference. Hut 8 signed a 15-year USD 9.8B lease with an investment-grade tenant for 352 MW of IT capacity, built to Nvidia's DSX reference architecture. The deal brings Hut 8's total contracted AI capacity to 597 MW across a 7,500 MW pipeline, and is expected to generate ~USD 5 Billion in annual net operating income once stabilised.

Sweetwater 1 & 2 - IREN (Nvidia investment)

Sweetwater 1 (1.4 GW) has been energized in Texas, with Sweetwater 2 (600 MW) underway at the same site. Nvidia committed up to USD 2.1 Billion in IREN to deploy up to 5 GW of Nvidia DSX-aligned AI infrastructure globally. Both sites serve as flagship deployments of Nvidia's GPU rack architecture. Microsoft is a major anchor customer.

US conversion portfolio 365 Data Centers / Aphorio Carter

A joint venture targeting 200 MW across multiple US markets through the conversion and development of high-density facilities. Initial letters of intent cover sites in Aurora, CO and Simpsonville, KY, with additional sites under evaluation in Connecticut, Kentucky, Virginia, and Ohio. Expected online within 9-24 months per site.

Vernon facility - DataBank / Goodman Group

A 32 MW joint-venture facility targeting the Vernon, California market, one of the most supply-constrained data center locations in the US. The partnership combines DataBank's operations expertise with Goodman Group's industrial real estate platform, providing a strategic entry into the Los Angeles metro region.

Cheyenne land acquisition - Microsoft

Microsoft is acquiring approximately 3,200 acres in Cheyenne, Wyoming to expand its long-standing data center presence in the region. The scale of the land purchase signals a long-horizon, multi-phase development strategy in a market offering favorable power access and lower regulatory friction than coastal hubs.

Mississippi expansion - AWS (Amazon)

AWS has scaled its total committed investment in data center projects of Mississippi to USD 25 Billion with additional projects underway in Madison and Hinds counties. The buildout is part of Amazon's broader USD 200 Billion AI infrastructure programme and reflects a deliberate strategy of expanding into secondary US markets where grid capacity and incentives are more accessible.

Toronto data center - Yondr Group

Yondr's 27 MW Toronto facility has been successfully energized and is on track for customer service by mid-2026. The project marks Yondr's continued push into the Canadian market, where hyperscale demand is rising and supply remains limited. It caters to cloud and enterprise colocation tenants seeking Canadian data residency.

New Data Center Developments in Europe

Lahti data center - TikTok (ByteDance)

A EUR 1 Billion (USD 1.16B) data center in Lahti, Finland, representing TikTok's continued investment in European infrastructure. Finland is an increasingly attractive destination for large-scale facilities due to its cool climate (reducing cooling costs), renewable energy availability, and stable regulatory environment. The project will support TikTok's European data storage and processing requirements.

Kronstorf data center - Google

Google's first-ever data center in Austria, located in Kronstorf. The facility will create 100 direct jobs and forms part of Google's broader European infrastructure expansion. Austria's central European location, stable grid, and growing cloud demand make it a logical addition to Google's EMEA footprint, which already spans Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, and Finland.

Spain portfolio acquisition - IREN / Nostrum Group

IREN is acquiring Nostrum Group (formerly Ingenostrum), a Spanish developer with 490 MW of secured, grid-connected pipeline across Extremadura, Castile-La Mancha, the Basque Country, and Galicia. This marks IREN's entry into Europe. The Galicia site is already partially live at 8.5 MW with plans to expand to 40 MW. Nostrum's energy division also holds 5 GW of live renewable capacity.

Helix Digital Infrastructure - KKR

KKR is launching Helix Digital Infrastructure with a budget exceeding USD 10 Billion, led by former AWS CEO Adam Selipsky. The firm will develop and manage AI infrastructure assets including data centers, power facilities, and networking, backed by sovereign wealth funds and strategic investors. While global in scope, the scale of the vehicle positions it as a significant future participant in European AI infrastructure markets.

Barcelona data center ecosystem - multiple operators

Barcelona is consolidating its position as the Mediterranean's primary data center hub, with multiple operators including ADAM, Oxigen, and PGI Data Centers advancing projects. The city aims to exceed 40 MW of total capacity by end-2026. 

Direct investment in Catalonia's data center sector stands at EUR 1.32 Billion, with total indirect economic impact estimated at EUR 2.2 Billion. Its appeal rests on strong connectivity, a growing tech ecosystem, and proximity to southern European cloud demand.

Critical infrastructure fund Accelerate / CBRE IM / Mubadala

Accelerate Infrastructure Opportunities has closed a USD 630 Million primary raise backed by CBRE Investment Management, the UAE's Mubadala sovereign wealth fund, and the Australian Retirement Trust bringing total platform equity to USD 1.26 Billion.

New Data Center Developments in Asia-Pacific

Andhra Pradesh campus - Google

Part of Google's USD 15 Billion America-India Connect initiative, this data center campus in Andhra Pradesh is the centrepiece of a five-year programme to strengthen digital connectivity between the US and India. A new international subsea cable gateway in Visakhapatnam positions India's east coast as a key data hub. The project is Google's largest infrastructure commitment in India to date and is expected to support cloud, AI, and enterprise services for the region.

Thailand cloud & AI expansion - Microsoft

Microsoft has committed over USD 1 Billion in Thailand between 2026 and 2028 to expand cloud and AI infrastructure and support national digital adoption goals. Thailand is emerging as a fast-growing Southeast Asian data center hub driven by its geographic position, rising data consumption, and supportive government policy and Microsoft joins AWS in establishing a dedicated self-build presence in the country.

Southern China AI data center - Alibaba / China Telecom

A jointly operated AI-focused facility in southern China purpose-built for training and inferencing workloads. The partnership between Alibaba and state-owned China Telecom reflects a broader pattern of Chinese hyperscalers collaborating with telecom carriers to co-develop AI-ready infrastructure, leveraging existing grid connections and network assets to accelerate deployment.

Australia renewable energy agreements - AWS

Amazon signed nine new renewable energy agreements in Australia adding 430 MW of clean power, bringing its total contracted Australian capacity to nearly 1 GW (990 MW) once fully operational. The move underpins AWS's expanding Australian cloud region and aligns with growing enterprise and government demand for provably renewable-powered cloud services in the region.

New Data Center Developments in Africa

Johannesburg & Cape Town land - Equinix

Equinix has acquired ZAR 890M (~USD 52.3 million) worth of land across Johannesburg and Cape Town approximately 327,000 m² in total to secure future capacity in South Africa's two primary commercial data center markets. The land bank positions Equinix ahead of growing demand driven by hyperscale expansion, connectivity upgrades, and rising AI workload requirements across Sub-Saharan Africa.

New Data Center Developments in South America

Brazil AI campus Phase 1 - Scala Data Centers

Scala is advancing a large-scale AI-focused campus in Brazil, positioning the country as a hyperscale destination for US and Chinese technology firms currently in discussions with the developer. Phase 1 construction is expected to begin in the second half of 2026. Brazil is the most active Latin American market for AI-driven data center investment, with demand outpacing colocation supply across key metro areas.

Brazil talent pipeline initiative - Equinix Foundation / ODATA / Cisco / Vertiv

A multi-company workforce development initiative in Brazil, led by the Equinix Foundation alongside ODATA, Cisco, and Vertiv, designed to expand the local data center talent pipeline. Initial training cohorts are set to begin mid-2026. The programme responds to a structural labour shortage that risks constraining the region's capacity buildout even as capital investment accelerates.

Conclusion

So far, May 2026 highlights a shift toward ultra-large, AI-ready data center ecosystems supported by long-term power strategies, innovative cooling technologies, and strategic partnerships. As the month progresses, continued announcements and financing activity are expected to further strengthen the global project pipeline and reinforce data centers as critical infrastructure for the digital economy.

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