NY-based investment firm Blackstone is increasing its debt facility for Aligned Data Centers to over US$1 billion as private lenders continue to invest in data centers supporting AI.

Blackstone’s credit and insurance division will provide the senior secured debt, which Aligned will use to expand its data center network.

Aligned, a Dallas-based data center operator, initially received US$600 million from Blackstone in March 2024 to finance a project in the Salt Lake City area.

The new funding is expected to support Aligned’s plan to add five gigawatts of data center capacity across the Americas.

Aligned has raised over US$7 billion in debt and more than US$5 billion in equity from investors such as Macquarie Asset Management.

Private credit firms are supplying significant funding for data center construction globally, with technology companies leasing these facilities for AI development.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Data center financing demands are reaching unprecedented scales

The numbers behind Blackstone’s billion-dollar commitment to Aligned Data Centers reflect a broader surge in capital requirements across the sector.

Data center financing in the U.S. reached $30 billion in 2024, with projections jumping to $60 billion for 2025, doubling in just one year1. This growth is driven by AI’s massive power requirements, as current data centers now need hundreds of megawatts compared to previous deployments1.

The scale becomes clearer when examining hyperscale customers like Microsoft, Meta, Google, and Amazon, who collectively spent over $200 billion on capital projects in 2024, with another $250-300 billion projected for 20252.

Individual projects are reaching massive scales too. Developing a typical 100MW greenfield data center now costs between $1-1.5 billion2, making Blackstone’s billion-dollar facility for Aligned’s 5-gigawatt expansion seem proportionally reasonable.

2️⃣ Supply constraints are creating a historically tight data center market

The urgency behind these massive financing deals becomes evident when examining supply-demand dynamics in the data center market.

North America’s colocation vacancy rate is nearing 0%, creating an unprecedented supply shortage3. Even with 8 gigawatts of data center capacity under construction, 73% is already preleased before completion3.

This shortage is intensifying rapidly as Goldman Sachs forecasts data center occupancy rates rising from 85% in 2023 to over 95% by late 20264. Major absorption markets like Northern Virginia absorbed 647 MW and Dallas absorbed 575 MW, demonstrating concentrated demand in established regions3.

The power demand driving this shortage is significant. AI data center power demand in the U.S. is projected to grow over thirtyfold by 2035, reaching 123 gigawatts from just 4 gigawatts in 20245. This explains why developers and financiers are racing to secure capacity before the market becomes even more constrained.

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