What is the latest update in the data center market?

This is our Q1 2026 update on the data center market, and we constantly refresh this blog post as new information comes in.

The data center market saw massive M&A activity, record-breaking fundraising rounds, and growing policy attention around power infrastructure this quarter.

Below you will find the most important updates, financial results, and market signals from January through March 2026.

And if you want to better understand this new industry, you can download our pitch covering the data center market.

Summary table of the most important updates in the data center market

We define the data center market as the market for delivering and operating physical data center capacity (space, power, and cooling) used to host computing equipment.

We include colocation providers and hyperscale facilities (owned or leased) and the facility infrastructure required to power and cool IT loads.

We exclude the IT equipment and software inside the facility (servers/GPUs, storage, networking, and cloud services revenue).

You can also get all the latest market news for the month here.

News	Category	Date	Source
STT GDC went private in a $13.8B mega-deal led by KKR and Singtel	M&A	February 3, 2026	Business Wire
DayOne Data Centers landed one of the biggest private rounds ever: $2B+ Series C	Fundraisings	January 5, 2026	FinancialContent
Equinix and CPP Investments agreed to buy atNorth for $4B	M&A	February 27, 2026	Equinix
The White House published a Ratepayer Protection Pledge for data center power	Regulations & Policies	March 4, 2026	The White House
JLL said the data center sector is heading toward 200 GW and a $3T buildout	Market Research	January 6, 2026	JLL
Digital Realty posted $1.6B quarterly revenue and an $817M signed backlog	Financial results	February 5, 2026	Digital Realty
Equinix closed 2025 with record bookings of $474M and strong 2026 guidance	Financial results	February 11, 2026	Equinix
Digital Realty entered Portugal through a data center acquisition in Lisbon	Market expansions	March 4, 2026	Digital Realty
Digital Realty entered Bulgaria with an acquisition in Sofia	Market expansions	March 2, 2026	Digital Realty
EdgeConneX started building a 200 MW AI-ready campus in Greater Osaka	Market expansions	March 17, 2026	Business Wire
Vantage Data Centers and Liberty Energy partnered on 1 GW of power solutions	Partnerships	January 4, 2026	Business Wire
Scale acquired Reload to control powered land and off-grid delivery	M&A	February 23, 2026	Business Wire

How is the data center market doing now?

How do we define the data center market?

We define the data center market as the market for delivering and operating physical data center capacity (space, power, and cooling) used to host computing equipment.

We include colocation providers and hyperscale facilities (owned or leased) and the facility infrastructure required to power and cool IT loads.

We exclude the IT equipment and software inside the facility (servers/GPUs, storage, networking, and cloud services revenue).

This is also the definition we use in our report covering the data center market.

How big is the data center market in 2026?

The data center market is worth approximately $150 billion in 2026, with a range of $120 billion to $180 billion depending on how much hyperscalers are spending on their own facilities.

This is not a random guess, if you want to know how we have come up with this estimate, you can read our data center market size analysis here.

To put that number in perspective, the data center market is roughly the same size as the global pharmaceutical contract manufacturing market ($140 billion) or the global semiconductor equipment market ($130 billion).

The data center market scores 65 out of 100 on maturity (still evolving fast because of AI), 85 out of 100 on competitive intensity (everyone is fighting for power and permits), and 70 out of 100 on fragmentation (a few giants plus hundreds of regional players).

How fast will the data center market grow in the future?

The data center market is expected to grow at about 12% per year, driven by AI-related power demand, continued hyperscale expansion, and persistent capacity shortages.

At that pace, the data center market should reach approximately $236 billion by 2030 and roughly $466 billion by 2036, which would make it more than three times its current size.

For comparison, that 2036 figure would put the data center market on par with today's global commercial aviation industry, making it one of the largest infrastructure sectors in the world.

What does current funding activity look like in the data center market?

Our team, who continually updates our data center market pitch deck, is keeping a close eye on the market and tracking key signals.

One of those signals is fundraising activity across startups. Each month, we refresh this page with a list of startups of the data center market that have raised funding, and we also publish a quarterly analysis here.

Is funding momentum accelerating or cooling in the data center market these days?

Q1 2026 saw headline-grabbing capital flows into the data center market, with DayOne Data Centers alone raising over $2 billion in a single Series C round, signaling that private funding momentum remains very strong.

Compared to Q1 2025, the size of individual rounds has grown significantly, reflecting investor confidence that the AI-driven capacity buildout still has a long runway ahead.

Average deal sizes in the data center market are trending much larger as investors concentrate capital into platforms that can deploy at hyperscale, rather than spreading smaller checks across many players.

Which categories and business models are attracting capital in the data center market?

These categories and business models of the data center market are receiving important fundraising currently:

• DayOne Data Centers raised $2B+ for global hyperscale expansion, showing that large-scale colocation and build-to-suit platforms attract the biggest checks.
• Integrated power-and-land platforms are drawing M&A capital, as shown by Scale's acquisition of Reload to control powered sites and off-grid energy delivery.
• Nordic-focused data center operators attracted billions, with atNorth being acquired for $4 billion by Equinix and CPP Investments for its cooling-friendly locations and power access.

The common thread across all these deals is clear: in 2026, capital in the data center market flows to whoever controls power, land, and the ability to deliver capacity fast.

Who's writing the most checks in the data center market?

These investors are being very active when it comes to fundraising in the data center market:

• KKR led the $13.8 billion take-private of STT GDC alongside Singtel, making it one of the largest digital infrastructure deals in Southeast Asia.
• CPP Investments partnered with Equinix on the $4 billion atNorth acquisition, continuing to bet heavily on physical data center capacity in favorable power markets.
• Equinix acted both as an operator and a strategic acquirer this quarter, using M&A to rapidly expand into the Nordics and appointing a new CFO for the capital-heavy phase ahead.

The biggest checks in Q1 2026 came from infrastructure-focused private equity and pension funds, confirming that institutional capital sees data centers as long-duration strategic assets.

Any big acquisitions or IPOs in the last three months in the data center market?

These are the big acquisitions and IPOs that happened recently in the data center market:

• KKR and Singtel agreed to fully acquire STT GDC at a $13.8 billion enterprise value, taking one of Asia's largest data center platforms private.
• Equinix and CPP Investments agreed to acquire atNorth for $4 billion, giving Equinix a major footprint across five Nordic countries with cooling and power advantages.
• Scale acquired Reload to gain control of powered land and rapidly deployable on-site energy for gigawatt-scale data center campuses.
• Digital Realty entered Portugal through an acquisition in Lisbon, and also entered Bulgaria with an interconnection hub in Sofia.

Q1 2026 was one of the most active quarters ever for data center M&A, with over $21 billion in deal value concentrated around platforms that own scarce power and land.

How are companies in the data center market performing overall?

We are watching this market everyday, because we need to constantly update our pitch deck. Here is a couple of things we have noticed.

Are there any standout success metrics or financial results in the data center market?

Yes, several data center operators posted impressive numbers this quarter:

• Digital Realty reported $1.6 billion in quarterly revenue with $400 million of annualized bookings and an $817 million backlog of signed-but-not-started rent.
• Equinix posted record annualized gross bookings of $474 million, up 42% year over year, with monthly recurring revenue growing 10%.
• EdgeCore entered 2026 with more than 1.8 GW of capacity delivered or under development, backed by over $5.9 billion in committed capital.

Record bookings and growing backlogs across the largest data center operators confirm that demand is real and signed, not just pipeline talk.

Have there been any major partnerships in the data center market?

Yes, one standout partnership was announced this quarter:

• Vantage Data Centers and Liberty Energy announced a partnership to develop 1 GW of power solutions for next-generation data centers, including a reservation of 400 MW of 2027 generation capacity.

This partnership shows that data center developers are no longer waiting for the grid and are instead bringing dedicated energy partners into the picture much earlier.

Have there been any notable technology or infrastructure breakthroughs in the data center market?

Q1 2026 did not feature a single standout technology breakthrough, but the quarter's activity pointed to an important shift in how data center infrastructure gets built.

• EdgeConneX started construction of a 200 MW AI-ready hyperscale campus in Greater Osaka, designed from the ground up for high-density AI workloads with first phase service targeted for Q1 2028.

The focus this quarter was less on new cooling or hardware breakthroughs and more on building AI-ready facilities at a scale that did not exist a few years ago.

Have any companies restructured or shifted pricing or business model in the data center market?

There were no major business model shifts or restructurings during Q1 2026 in the data center market, though the quarter did see one significant leadership change.

• Equinix appointed Olivier Leonetti as its new CFO, replacing longtime CFO Keith Taylor as the data center market enters a more capital-intensive phase with larger deals and heavier financing requirements.

A CFO change at the world's largest colocation operator signals that capital allocation and deal structuring are becoming even more central to competitive strategy.

Are there any other notable wins or successes in the data center market?

Beyond the financial results already mentioned, these additional wins stood out in Q1 2026:

• Digital Realty expanded into Portugal and Bulgaria, adding two new European countries to its footprint in a single month and building a wider continental mesh.
• EdgeConneX broke ground on its 200 MW Osaka campus, marking a serious long-term capacity bet in one of Asia's toughest data center markets to enter.

The biggest wins this quarter went to operators who moved fast into new geographies, locking down scarce power and land before competitors could.

What is the overall sentiment in the data center market right now?

Are there any notable recent opinion pieces, thought leadership about the data center market?

No major standalone opinion pieces or thought leadership essays stood out during Q1 2026 in the data center market, though the research reports below shaped the conversation.

Are there any interesting and recent market research reports about the data center market?

Yes, two important research reports shaped the data center market conversation this quarter:

• JLL published a report saying global data center capacity could nearly double from 103 GW to 200 GW by 2030, framing the buildout as a potential $3 trillion investment cycle over five years.
• Colliers released its 2026 Data Center Marketplace report, concluding that power scarcity has become the main constraint in the data center market, overtaking customer demand as the limiting factor for growth.

Both reports point to the same conclusion: the data center market has plenty of demand, but growth depends entirely on who can solve for power.

Have there been any regulatory changes, policy updates, or new compliance requirements in the data center market?

Yes, one significant policy development happened in Q1 2026:

• The White House published the Ratepayer Protection Pledge, calling on hyperscalers and AI companies to build, bring, or buy the energy needed for their data centers rather than passing infrastructure costs onto household ratepayers.

This is the clearest signal yet that data center power consumption has become a political issue, and future permitting and grid access decisions will likely reflect that.

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