Building or backing a data center company? See how the money is really made

Updated October 202670+ pagesPDF

Data Centers Business Models
Cover of NewMarketPitch's Data Centers Business Models report, 2026 edition
Are data-center companies priced like big tech? Yes, most listed ones, at ×10 to ×39 their yearly sales. The UK startup Nscale, the only one with 12-month sales on file, is priced at ×90, above Palantir. Chart from NewMarketPitch's Data Centers report.
Is the AI campus startup Crusoe really worth $31 billion? Partly, two thirds of it, if its sales arrive. Priced like the listed landlords, ~$2B of sales would be worth ~$20B. The other ~$11B is a bet on its growth. Chart from NewMarketPitch's Data Centers report.
Crusoe or Nscale: who is really ahead in building AI campuses? Crusoe, on every line both publish: power, contracts, sales, value and money raised. Nscale’s order book grows faster, and its IPO could narrow the gap. Chart from NewMarketPitch's Data Centers report.
Who pays for the new grid power that data centers need? Every home and business on the grid. In the biggest US grid’s record $16.4B power auction, $6.5B (40%) is tied to data centers, most of them not yet built. Chart from NewMarketPitch's Data Centers report.
Are four startups now worth more than Digital Realty? Yes, on paper. Crusoe, Fluidstack, Nscale and Firmus add up to ~$74B, more than the data-center landlord Digital Realty ($66B). But even with all the sales they expect in 2026, ~$3B, they sell less than half as much ($6.8B). Chart from NewMarketPitch's Data Centers report.
Have data-center and nuclear stocks held up since they listed? Mostly, three of five. Oklo, CoreWeave and Ionic Digital trade above their listing price, X-energy and Fermi far below. All five sit 25% to 92% under their peak. Chart from NewMarketPitch's Data Centers report.
Who is fighting whom in the data-center market now? Crusoe leads the AI campuses and Equinix the landlords. In nuclear the lead is split: Oklo on value, X-energy on sales. Chart from NewMarketPitch's Data Centers report.
How much does a megawatt of data center cost to build now? ~$11.3M on average, before the chips, from under $8M in India to ~$17M in Tokyo. Liquid cooling and its own gas plant add another ~$3-4M. Chart from NewMarketPitch's Data Centers report.
Who is on the hook for a trillion dollars of data-center leases? Five tech giants. They signed ~$1.12T of rent, mostly for data centers, in buildings not yet open, ~4 times the leases on their books. Microsoft alone signed $329B. Chart from NewMarketPitch's Data Centers report.

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Inside the report

  • Which business models are winning
  • Who signs the giant contracts
  • Who makes money, who burns cash
  • How much debt is behind it
  • Who are the top companies today
  • Who’s ahead, and who’s falling behind
  • What are their valuations
  • Who’s getting funded, and by whom
  • What are the biggest unsolved problems
  • What has changed in the last 12 months
  • Where are the biggest opportunities
  • Who are the likely future winners
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Verified data with sourcesUpdated in October 2026