a new report It turns out that investment in the worldwide data center market reached $61 billion this year, setting a new record amid a wave of artificial intelligence boom.
Analysis by S&P Global, first Reported by CNBCDriven by the insatiable demand for AI companies to meet massive real estate, hardware and energy needs, the market intelligence firm documented what it called a “global construction frenzy that shows no signs of slowing down.” S&P projects investment in the data center market at $60.8 billion in 2024, just below the 2025 number.
“Unable to buy, many investors are turning to new construction,” wrote S&P Global analyst Yuri Struta.
According to Data Center Map, which tracks facilities globally, the United Kingdom has about 500 data centers, while the United States has about 4,000.
S&P Global analyst Struta said he doesn’t expect demand for data centers to slow.
“The global data center footprint is projected to grow at a faster rate over the next five years than in the past five years due to demand for energy and compute-intensive AI workloads,” Struta said.
The report from S&P Global comes at a time when some investors are concerned that the entire artificial intelligence sector may be in the midst of massive overspending for unproven ongoing returns.
Last week, shares of Oracle dropped That came after it reported quarterly earnings 11% lower than analysts expected, resulting in a decline in share prices for some other major companies in AI. Some companies, such as Nvidia and OpenAI, as well as Oracle, have recently been criticized for making deals with each other that appear circular to many investors.
Earlier this year, The International Energy Agency noted in a lengthy report Globally, “electricity demand for data centers will more than double by 2030”, reaching 945 terawatt hours (TWh), or slightly more than “Japan’s total electricity consumption today”.
This month, a trio of Deutsche Bank analysts proposed a shocking chart It shows that OpenAI alone will spend $143 billion between 2024 and 2029, a year before the company claims it will turn a profit. That chart shows how much more the ChatGate maker, seen as a pioneer of the AI industry, plans to spend compared to other tech giants of the past two decades, including Amazon, Tesla and Uber, that have reached profitability.
“Undoubtedly, OpenAI can continue to attract significant funding and eventually develop products that generate substantial profits and revolutionize the world,” wrote Jim Reed, managing director, global head of macro research and thematic strategy at Deutsche Bank.
“But currently, no startup in history has operated with losses on this scale. We are firmly in uncharted territory.”
