Prologis, the $100 billion-plus real-estate giant, has hired a new global head of data centers and could invest more than $25 billion into the sector in the coming years.
Prologis had previously driven a boom in warehouse investment as ecommerce took off during the pandemic. Now, along with Blackstone, it’s placing a big bet on data centers.
“There is insatiable demand,” Prologis’s CEO said on a recent earnings call. “We can see easily 10, 15, 20 years of projects out there.”
The data center boom is being supercharged by the growing interest in AI. Big Tech companies and venture capitalists are pouring billions into generative AI efforts based on its potential to reshape our virtual realities.
The building boom is a reflection of the physical infrastructure required to make that virtual world a possibility. And it’s having very real-world consequences. Data centers are going up across rural America, impacting communities and placing strains on utilities. It’s a story we’ll be following in the months to come.