Amazon, Microsoft lead data center demand boom, operators seek billions of dollars in financing
As investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure continues to soar, Technology giants such as Huawei are driving a surge in demand for data centers around the world, triggering large-scale stake sales by operators to raise funds for expansion. According to media reports, several data center developers, including Netrality Data Centers, DataBank, Edged and EdgeCore Digital Infrastructure, are working with banks to sell majority stakes this summer, with the total value of these transactions potentially reaching tens of billions of dollars. Operators gain liquidity by selling stakes and bring in partners with stronger financial strength to support large-scale land, power and construction investments. The trend comes amid an explosion in capital spending by hyperscalers. The latest report predicts that the total capital expenditures of the five major platforms of Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, Google and SpaceX will reach approximately US$1.2 trillion in 2027, and will further increase to approximately US$1.4 trillion in 2028. Among them, Amazon's capital expenditures in 2028 are expected to reach US$318 billion, and its AWS business revenue growth rate has been significantly underestimated. Jefferies analysts pointed out that despite the acceleration of capital expenditures by hyperscale enterprises, data center demand continues to exceed supply, creating a structural shortage. In 2025, only 8.9 GW of new capacity will be added globally, while demand will reach nearly 21.1 GW, leaving a gap of approximately 12 GW. Data shows that vacancy rates in core markets such as Northern Virginia have fallen to a historic low of 0.3%.