Data Centers at the Fore Front of the Technological Transformation
Infrastructure has always been crucial to prosperity and societal progress. Today is no exception: the digitalization of the economy is becoming the next industrial revolution, driven by the explosion of computing demand to enable the development of artificial intelligence, automation, data sovereignty, and security. Together, these trends are driving a dramatic increase in the need for data centers and other digital infrastructure.
To provide some figures supporting these trends, by 2030, data centers are expected to require $6.7 trillion[1] to keep pace with demand for computer power. Just the four largest US tech companies (Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Meta) are expected to increase AI-related capex in data center projects, supporting a capacity growth of +22% per annum by 2030[2].
Behind this large investment, there are attractive opportunities to deploy capital for infrastructure investors through long-term leases with strong counterparties, offering different business models that range from small and convenient data centers located in towns to very large hyperscale models, offering different risk-return profiles.
Nevertheless, the development of data centers is facing some challenges associated with its investment dimension, requiring massive resources ranging from land and access to power 24/7, to water for refrigeration and massive amounts of raw materials such as steel, aluminum, etc.
Looking forward, the data center sector and all the required investments in adjacent infrastructure (mainly power supply) will have a very strong presence within global infrastructure investments for the next decade.
At AltamarCAM, we are strong believers in these trends, having made investments in the different subsegments under long-term cashflow conditions and strong downside protection.
The digital sector is becoming the fastest growing in most world economies. Data generation has multiplied by 4.5 times[1], backed by the digitalization of the entire economy, the growing demand for increasingly complex computing processes, and the rise in AI adoption.
Within this trend, Data Centers are critical infrastructure that provide the essential ground to support all the digital services running the economy. From telecom operators to social media platforms, autonomous vehicle technology, and systems that enable AI generation, all of these “entities” need to interact with data centers.
References:
- [1] Monitor Deloitte, CBRE, Public Company Filings.
- [2] McKinsey & Company (2025), Data center demand model.
- [3] McKinsey & Morgan Stanley Research (Julio 2025).
Global Data Consumption (ZBts)
Proskauer Private Credit Default Index
Sources: Monitor Deloitte, CBRE, Public Company Filings
As a result, the need to build and operate Data Centers is critical and is expected to drive an unprecedented investment cycle, requiring over $6.7 trillion until 2030 to support an expected annual growth of 22% in Data Center demand globally.
Global Data Center Demand Forecast (GW)
Source : Sources: McKinsey
To measure the dimension of what this represents, the four largest Data Center / AI operators are expected to spend over $700 billion annually over the next two years and are accelerating its investment path as AI needs increase.
Source: Companies Data
There are different types of Data Centers depending on the kind of data processing that it is going to be used for, as well as the customer needs in terms of dimension and flexibility.
As summarized below, the different types offer long-term contracts with strong counterparties to attract investors. Data Centers are not only used for artificial intelligence related processes, but also to host and keep safe Cloud Services, critical information related to all of us. It is also used to have computing capacity to run processes within each company. Hence, they are critical infrastructure for the end customers, to run their own businesses. Depending on the type of usage, the contracted profile differs, although in most cases it offers long-term contracts providing long term, stable cash flow visibility.
Distintos modelos de data centers
Source: AltamarCAM Research
The expected growth of Data Centers implies a great investment opportunity for infrastructure investors but is not exempt from various challenges that need to be solved to enable this trend and ensure positive returns. Amongst others, the main challenges that need to be converted into opportunities are:
- Securing power and grid connection: Considering the amount of power that these facilities require, it is critical to locate the Data Center in a place with dispatchable power. This represents an investment opportunity for Power companies to provide dedicated power solutions when grid connection and/or access to power grid is not available.
- Land Access: Location of the data center, depending on the usage of the facility, is key for the customer. These facilities require significant surfaces of land, in some cases close to data consumptions hubs. Being agile in the permitting of the land is key to matching the demand timings.
- Access to stable energy prices: Having access to stable pricing of energy is essential given that power is amongst the largest expenses when operating a Data Center.
- Fiber and Telecom Grid connections: Having full speed fiber connectivity is crucial to providing a good service when referring to latency and speed of response. Fiber providers have a large opportunity to provide end to end connectivity infrastructure.
- Construction materials supply and construction cost predictability: Guaranteed supply of key components of Data Centers such as metals, rare earth and other elements with predictable prices and timings is key to meeting development timelines.
At AltamarCAM, we believe there are strong fundamentals to support this investment theme, and we have invested in different segments within the sector. This includes several Data Center providers in the Colocation and Hyperscale markets in USA and Europe, as well as several power supply companies partly focused on providing distributed energy to Data Centers in the major markets.
A sector that drives the next industrial revolution
Data Centers are among the investment themes that are going to drive global economic growth over the next decade. The number of resources and related sectors that need to be mobilized represent a very compelling opportunity to generate long-terms stable returns. Nevertheless, the challenges that the sector faces are significant and must be carefully assessed and mitigated to generate a reasonable investment risk return profile.
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