Latest news with #hyperscale
National Post
14 hours ago
- Business
- National Post
Vantage Data Centers Secures $5B in Incremental Green Loan Financings to Support Demand for North America Platform
Article content Article content DENVER — Vantage Data Centers, a leading global provider of hyperscale data center campuses, today announced it has secured $5 billion in incremental green loan financings to meet continued demand. The capital includes a $2.25 billion financing to fully fund construction of the company's New Albany, Ohio, campus and a $2.75 billion upsizing of an existing $3 billion 2024 borrowing base loan. These transactions combined give Vantage a total of $8 billion for the ongoing expansion of its North America platform. Article content Innovative Rated Construction Financing Vantage has raised $2.25 billion in debt financing to fund the full development of its New Albany, Ohio, campus. Located just outside Columbus, this 70-acre campus will house three pre-leased hyperscale data centers with 192MW across 1.5 million square feet. The first facility is slated to be operational by December 2025. Article content Led by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG) and Societe Generale, the transaction represents one of the first construction loans in the data center industry to have achieved private investment-grade ratings by two leading rating agencies. Article content Increased Corporate Facility Separately, Vantage upsized its existing $3 billion green loan corporate credit facility by an additional $2.75 billion, increasing the total to $5.75 billion. The financing will support the development of data centers and land acquisitions for future growth in North America. Article content The transaction continues Vantage's long-standing relationships with top-tier financial institutions. The expanded facility was arranged by a bank syndicate led by structuring bank Wells Fargo Securities, LLC along with joint bookrunners TD Securities, Truist Securities, Inc. and Scotiabank. Article content 'As the need for digital infrastructure continues to accelerate, Vantage remains focused on raising capital to support the rapid expansion of our North America platform,' said Rich Cosgray, senior vice president, global capital markets at Vantage. 'These financings demonstrate our ability to secure sustainable and innovative funding vehicles to meet market demand and serve our customers with scalable solutions that ultimately increase our speed to market.' Article content Both financing deals were secured under Vantage's Green Finance Framework, reinforcing the company's commitment to the sustainable development, delivery and operation of its data centers. This strong financial backing positions Vantage to meet customer demand at scale across multiple markets in support of the digital economy. Article content White & Case served as legal advisor to Vantage on both transactions. Article content About Vantage Data Centers Vantage Data Centers powers, cools, protects and connects the technology of the world's well-known hyperscalers, cloud providers and large enterprises. Developing and operating across five continents in North America, EMEA and Asia Pacific, Vantage has evolved data center design in innovative ways to deliver dramatic gains in reliability, efficiency and sustainability in flexible environments that can scale as quickly as the market demands. Article content Article content Article content Article content Contacts Article content Press Contacts Mark Freeman Vantage Data Centers mfreeman@ +1-202-680-4243 Article content Article content Article content
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Data centers are at the heart of the AI revolution and here's how they are changing
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. As demand for AI and cloud computing soars, pundits are suggesting that the world is teetering on the edge of a potential data center crunch—where capacity can't keep up with the digital load. Concerns and the hype have led to plummeting vacancy rates: in Northern Virginia, the world's largest data center market, for example, vacancy rates have fallen below 1%. Echoing past fears of "peak oil" and "peak food," the spotlight now turns to "peak data." But rather than stall, the industry is evolving—adopting modular builds, renewable energy, and AI-optimized systems to redefine how tomorrow's data centers will power an increasingly digital world. Future data centers will increasingly move away from massive centralized facilities alone, embracing smaller, modular, and edge-based data centers. The sector is already splitting out in hyperscale data centers one end and smaller, edge-oriented facilities on the other. Smaller, modular and edge data centers can be built in a few months and tend to be located closer to end users to reduce latency. Unlike the huge campuses of hyperscale with facilities often covering millions of square feet these smaller data centers are sometimes built into repurposed buildings such as abandoned shopping malls, empty office towers, and factories in disuse, helping requalify ex-industrial brownfield areas. Leaner centers can be rapidly deployed, located closer to end users for reduced latency, and tailored to specific workloads such as autonomous vehicles and AR. To address energy demands and grid constraints, future data centers will increasingly be co-located with power generation facilities, such as nuclear or renewable plants. This reduces reliance on strained grid infrastructure and improves energy stability. Some companies are investing in nuclear power. Nuclear power provides massive, always-on power that is also free of carbon emissions. Modular reactors are being considered to overcome grid bottlenecks, long wait times for power delivery, and local utility limits. Similarly, they will be increasingly built in areas where the climate reduces operational strain. Lower cooling costs and access to water enables the use of energy-efficient liquid-cooling systems instead of air-cooling. We will be seeing more data centers pop up in places like Scandinavia and the Pacific Northwest. Artificial intelligence will play a major role in managing and optimizing data center operations, particularly for cooling and energy use. For instance, reinforcement learning algorithms are being used to cut energy use by optimizing cooling systems, achieving up to 21% energy savings. Similarly, fixes like replacing legacy servers with more energy-efficient machines, with newer chips or thermal design, can significantly expand compute capacity, without requiring new premises. Instead of only building new facilities, future capacity will be expanded by refreshing hardware with newer, denser, and more energy-efficient servers. This allows for more compute power in the same footprint, enabling quick scaling to meet surges in demand, particularly for AI workloads. These power-hungry centers are also putting a strain on electricity grids. Future data centers will leverage new solutions such as load shifting to optimize energy efficiency. Google is already partnering with PJM Interconnection, the largest electrical grid operator in North America, to leverage AI to automate tasks such as viability assessments of connection applications, thus enhancing grid efficiency. Issues are typically not due to lack of energy but insufficient transmission capacity. In addition to this, fortunately, data centers are usually running well below full capacity specifically to accommodate future growth. This added capacity will prove useful as facilities accommodate unexpected traffic spikes, and rapid scaling needs without requiring new constructions. Future data center locations will be chosen based on climate efficiency, grid access, and political zoning policies but also availability of AI-skilled workforce. Data centers aren't server rooms—they're among the most complex IT infrastructure projects in existence, requiring seamless power, cooling, high-speed networking, and top-tier security. Building them involves a wide range of experts, from engineers to logistics teams, coordinating everything from semiconductors to industrial HVAC systems. Data centers will thus drive up the demand for high-performance networking, thermal, power redundancy, and advanced cooling engineers. It's clear that the recent surge in infrastructure demand to power GPUs and high-performance computing, for example, is being driven primarily by AI. In fact, training massive models like OpenAI's GPT-4 or Google's Gemini requires immense computational resources, consuming GPU cycles at an astonishing rate. These training runs often last weeks and involve thousands of specialized chips, drawing on power and cooling infrastructure. But the story doesn't end there: even when a model is trained, running these models in real-time to generate responses, make predictions, or process user inputs (so-called AI inference) adds a new layer of energy demand. While not as intense as training, inference must happen at scale and with low latency, which means it's placing a steady, ongoing load on cloud infrastructure. However, here's a nuance that's frequently glossed over in much of the hype: AI workloads don't scale in a straight-forward, linear fashion: doubling the number of GPUs or increasing the size of a model will not always lead to proportionally better results. Experience has shown that as models grow in size, the performance gains actually may taper off or introduce new challenges, such as brittleness, hallucination, or the need for more careful fine-tuning. In short, the current AI boom is real, but it may not be boundless. Understanding the limitations of scale and the nonlinear nature of progress is crucial for policymakers, investors, and businesses alike as they plan for data center demand that is shaped by AI exponential growth. The data center industry therefore stands at a pivotal crossroads. Far from buckling under the weight of AI tools and cloud-driven demand, however, it's adapting at speed through smarter design, greener power, and more efficient hardware. From modular builds in repurposed buildings to AI-optimized cooling systems and co-location with power plants, the future of data infrastructure will be leaner, more distributed, and strategically sited. As data becomes the world's most valuable resource, the facilities that store, process, and protect it are becoming smarter, greener, and more essential than ever. We list the best colocation providers. This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here:
Gulf Business
22-05-2025
- Business
- Gulf Business
Bain Capital launches hscale to drive data centre expansion in EMEA region
Image: Getty Images/ For illustrative purposes The announcement marks a significant milestone in Bain Capital's broader EMEA digital strategy, which began with its October 2024 acquisition of AQ Compute. With a leadership team boasting a track record of delivering nearly 7 gigawatts of Spearheading the venture is CEO Oliver Schiebel, former head of Mainova WebHouse, supported by a team of industry veterans with deep operational and technical expertise. The company is positioning itself as a customer-first provider of scalable, replicable infrastructure tailored to the complex and evolving needs of hyperscale clients. 'Our vision with hscale is to build the fastest route to market for hyperscalers — combining cleaner energy, high-capacity infrastructure and outstanding service,' said Schiebel. 'Backed by Bain Capital's global investment strength and operational know-how, we are developing digital infrastructure that is future-proof, sustainable and built for scale.' Aquila Group to have a 20 per cent stake in hscale Aquila Group, which sold AQ Compute to Bain Capital last year, remains invested with a 20 per cent stake in hscale. The sustainable asset management firm and its subsidiary, Aquila Clean Energy, will provide critical low-carbon and renewable energy expertise, supporting hscale's ESG commitments and long-term growth goals. Aquila will also back hscale with additional capital investment, underlining its confidence in the venture's trajectory. Michael Huber, principal at Bain Capital, confirmed that the firm plans a multi-billion Euro investment over the next few years, fueling an ambitious pipeline of over 1GW in key European data centre hubs including Frankfurt, London, Milan, Madrid, Oslo, Barcelona, and Zaragoza. More than 100MW is already under construction, enabling hscale to deliver near-term capacity for clients operating on accelerated digital transformation timelines. The platform's official debut will take place at the Datacloud Global Congress in Cannes this June, where hscale will serve as a Gold Sponsor. CTO Abed Jishi is scheduled to join a high-profile panel on June 5th, where he will outline the company's strategic blueprint and technology roadmap. As hyperscale demand intensifies and sustainability becomes a core differentiator, hscale enters the market with a powerful proposition: a purpose-built, AI-ready infrastructure platform backed by two giant s— Bain Capital and Aquila Group — that combines global investment muscle with deep sustainability credentials.
Zawya
21-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Bain Capital unveils hscale and charts a course for rapid expansion of hyperscale data centres across EMEA
London, UK - Bain Capital, a leading global private investment firm, today announced the launch of hyperscale provider hscale, marking the next step in the firm's expansion of its digital infrastructure footprint across the EMEA region. As part of this journey, which started with the acquisition of AQ Compute in October 2024, hscale is led by a newly appointed, highly experienced leadership team, and is underpinned by Bain Capital's proven strategies from successful data centre investments in Asia and the United States. hscale, custom built for growth and excellence, is committed to developing customer friendly, replicable and scalable digital infrastructure across the EMEA region that is bespoke to hyperscale customers' evolving requirements. Industry veterans make up the leadership team, including CEO Oliver Schiebel, who brings extensive experience from his tenure as CEO of Mainova WebHouse. The team has collectively delivered 6.85 GW of data centre capacity across EMEA and APAC, positioning hscale to meet the unprecedented demand for bespoke, high-capacity data centres. Aquila Group, the former owner of AQ Compute and a leader in sustainable assets, retains a 20 percent shareholding in hscale. The company will continue to contribute its renewable energy and sustainability expertise. In collaboration with Aquila Group and its subsidiary, Aquila Clean Energy, hscale will deploy low-carbon technologies and renewable energy solutions for its hyperscaler clients. In addition, Aquila Group will support hscale's growth ambitions with substantial investments. hscale Chief Executive Officer, Oliver Schiebel, said: ' hscale is set to leverage the robust capabilities and strategic assets of our heritage firm, aligning them with the innovative strategies and global expertise of Bain Capital. With access to cleaner energy projects, we will develop future-proof, scalable digital infrastructure tailored to the evolving needs of hyperscalers, driven by the rapid growth of AI and cloud services. Our friendly, honest and timely customer service sets hscale apart, allowing our customers the quickest journey to market.' Michael Huber, a Principal at Bain Capital, added: 'With a planned multi-billion Euro investment over the coming years, hscale is poised for rapid expansion. Our strategic pipeline includes over 1GW of projects in key locations such as Milan, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Oslo, Barcelona, and Zaragoza, with more than 100MW already under construction. This positions hscale to deliver near-term solutions that meet the specific requirements of our hyperscaler clients.' Official Launch at Datacloud Global Congress hscale will officially launch at the Datacloud Global Congress in Cannes in June 2025, where the company will serve as a Gold Sponsor. Chief Technology Officer, Abed Jishi, will participate in a panel discussion on 5th June, showcasing hscale's strategic vision and commitment to excellence. About Bain Capital Bain Capital is one of the world's leading private multi-asset alternative investment firms that creates lasting impact for our investors, teams, businesses, and the communities in which we live. Since our founding in 1984, we've applied our insight and experience to organically expand into numerous asset classes including private equity, credit, public equity, venture capital, real estate and other strategic areas of focus. The firm has offices on four continents, more than 1,750 employees and approximately $185 billion in assets under management. To learn more, visit About hscale hscale is a pan-European data centre platform delivering sustainable and AI-ready infrastructure. Founded in 2025, it is a joint venture between Bain Capital and Aquila Group. With facilities across Europe, hscale serves hyperscalers and cloud services with high-performance, flexible infrastructure. Its designs feature ultra-high-density cooling, liquid cooling and heat reuse to support clients' ESG goals. Learn more at Press contacts: Bain Capital: Jason Lobo, Bain Capital jlobo@ Camarco baincapital@ hscale: Stefanie Casall, hscale APCO: hscaleEMEA@
Independent Singapore
13-05-2025
- Business
- Independent Singapore
BDx secures financing for its hyperscale data centre expansion in Hong Kong
Photo: Facebook/SGTech SINGAPORE: BDx Data Centers has secured financing for its hyperscale data centre expansion in Hong Kong from Clifford Capital, UOB, and SMBC. The funding will go toward the development and operational costs for BDx's new facility in Kwai Chung, one of Hong Kong's most sought-after digital infrastructure zones, the cloud- and carrier-neutral data centre said in a press release on Tuesday (May 13). 'Designed in close collaboration with its anchor hyperscale customer, this facility is built to exacting technical specifications with an emphasis on energy efficiency,' it added. This is BDx's debut in the Hong Kong market and its third project financing deal. The first two were in Singapore and Indonesia. Mayank Srivastava, CEO of BDx, said the successful financing shows the company's unwavering commitment to accelerating digital transformation across Asia. 'Our data centre in Hong Kong is a flagship facility designed for scale, performance, and sustainability. This also highlights BDx's capability of consistently solving for customer requirements within challenging timelines,' he added. Lim Lay Wah, Group Head of Sector Solutions and Global Financial Institutions Group at UOB, said: 'Green data centres are a promising growth area driven by the increasing demand for digital infrastructure and the growing global focus on sustainability. As a proactive bank helping ASEAN businesses achieve their sustainability goals, we look forward to partnering with BDx in their ambitions in ASEAN, Greater China and beyond.' Clifford Capital's Group CEO Murli Maiya added that the deal aligns with Clifford Capital's focus on enabling transformative infrastructure projects that drive digital growth across Asia. Meanwhile, SMBC's Managing Director Luca Tonello added that the deal reflects SMBC's continued commitment to supporting clients' growth and success across key global markets. The new Hong Kong facility will join BDx's current network of data centres and edge sites in Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong SAR, and Taiwan. /TISG Read also: OpenAI secures 'largest funding round of all time' led by SoftBank
