Data Center & AI Industry Insights - March 31, 2025

This week, we bring you the latest developments in the data center and AI industries.

Key Headlines

1. Meta Plans $10 Billion AI Data Center in Louisiana Meta Platforms is set to build its largest-ever data center in Holly Ridge, Louisiana, spanning 4 million square feet. This $10 billion project aims to advance AI system development and is expected to create 5,000 construction jobs and 500 permanent positions. WSJ

2. China's Advances in Humanoid Robotics Chinese engineers are making significant strides in developing AI-powered humanoid robots capable of autonomous learning and task execution. These robots are being integrated into factories, potentially revolutionizing labor-intensive industries. WSJ

3. US Blacklists Chinese Tech Firms in AI Crackdown The US government has added over 50 Chinese companies to its export blacklist to curb advancements in AI, quantum computing, and military technologies, citing national security concerns. New York Post

4. OpenAI considers building its own data center and buying storage hardware:Investing.com

5. Alibaba's Joe Tsai voices concern about AI data center construction bubble. Data Center Dynamics

6. Nvidia stock sinks amid tech rout and report on China environmental guidelines. Yahoo Finance

7. UK Data Center Investments Face Grid Connection Delays Microsoft's £2.5 billion plan to build AI infrastructure in the UK is at risk due to delays in securing grid connections, with potential operational dates pushed to 2035. The situation raises concerns about the impact of green energy policies on tech investments. TheTimes

8. Texas Proposes Regulations for Data Center Energy Consumption Texas lawmakers have introduced Senate Bill 6 to regulate data centers and large electricity users, aiming to prevent power outages and ensure grid reliability amid surging electricity demand from tech projects. Houston Chronicle

Global Developments

• SEGRO and Pure Data Centres announce a £1 billion joint venture for a London data center in Park Royal. Data Center Dynamics
• Digital Realty launches a new data center in Frankfurt, Germany. Data Center Dynamics
• Greek PPC unveils a €5 billion plan for data centers. Balkan Green Energy News
• Start Campus begins work on a second €8 billion building at Sines Data Centre in June. Start Campus
• NScale to expand Glomfjord data center in Norway with 30MW building. Data Center Dynamics
• Eurazeo plans to invest €100 million in Metrobloks to support expansion. Eurazeo)

• Planned €2 billion sale of Energia reignited following data center planning approval. Independent.ie

• Cassava Technologies plans Africa’s first NVIDIA-powered AI factory. Cassava Technologies
• Emirates Group co-locates to the world’s largest solar-powered data center in Dubai.
• Rack Centre launches a 12MW AI-ready facility in Nigeria. TechPoint Africa
• Khazna confirms MGX and Silver Lake as shareholders. MEED
• Enlight to invest USD 1.1bn in solar-backed data centre in Israel. Renewables Now

• Schneider Electric plans to invest over $700 million in the U.S., supporting energy & AI sectors. Schneider Electric

• STACK Infrastructure announces a new 36MW data center in Chicago. GlobeNewswire
• Four-building data center campus proposed in Indianapolis, Indiana. Data Center Dynamics
• Serverfarm files plans for two new Texas facilities acquired last year.
• Oklo boosts Aurora reactor capacity to 75MW to power AI data centers. Data Center Dynamics
• Critical Data House plans a $10 billion facility in North Dakota. Citizen Portal AI

• Two data center campuses totaling 38 buildings proposed in Yorkville, Illinois. Data Center Dynamics
• Brazil aims to attract $350 billion in data center investments over the next decade.
• Scala Data Centers secures R$180 million credit line from BNDES to expand operations.

• Metavisio, Thomson Computing, and BKB Energy to build 260 MW data center in South Korea. W.Media
• Empyrion Digital enters Thailand with BOI approval for 12MW data center. W.Media
• South Korean cloud firm Okestro plans 40MW data center in Sejong. Data Center Dynamics
• Japanese consortium proposes floating data center in Yokohama. Data Center Dynamics

Industry Trends

1. Wales secures £250m semiconductor investment. Capacity Media
2. Upper90 Closes $225M Credit Facility to Crusoe to Expand AI Cloud Infrastructure Inside HPC
3. AI Infrastructure Growth Hyperscale operators are investing heavily in AI-ready facilities, driving demand for skilled electricians and sustainable energy solutions.
4. Sustainability Initiatives Companies are adopting clean energy sources, including nuclear and solar power, to meet growing computational demands of frontier AI models.
5. Custom Silicon Development Enterprises are partnering with chipmakers to optimize hardware for advanced AI reasoning and multimodal systems integration.

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