January 31, 2026

Top news (global)

• Hyperscalers signaled another step-up in AI data-centre spend: Microsoft and Meta earnings reveal AI data center buildout highlighted Microsoft’s US$37.5bn quarterly capex (two-thirds toward chips) and Meta’s US$72.22bn 2025 capex guidance and US$115–135bn for 2026, with constraints called out around power, silicon, supply chains, and financing/ownership models.

• A major US AI-campus-scale build was disclosed in Mississippi: xAI to build $20 billion MACROHARDRR data center in Southaven described >$20bn of corporate investment, a retrofit of a purchased building near a newly acquired Southaven power plant site, and a target to boost computing power to nearly 2 GW.

• Bank commentary pointed to tightening capital availability for data-centre builds: Oracle may cut jobs, sell Cerner amid financing strain said TD Cowen estimates US lenders have retreated from data-centre project financing (raising borrowing costs), with Oracle exploring customer-funded models (e.g., 40% upfront deposits and BYOC) amid an estimated US$156bn infrastructure capex requirement.

Key deals & projects

North America

• Mississippi (US): supply-chain buildout around large campuses

  • Data centers spur manufacturing and supplier boom in Mississippi:
    • AWS investing US$10bn in Madison County (reported 1,700 acres), 1,000 direct jobs, construction through 2027; also announced US$3bn in Warren County.
    • ABB investing US$40m to expand Senatobia facility (adding 122 jobs).

• Michigan (US): proposed HPC/data centre with unusually detailed utility footprint disclosures

  • University of Michigan proposes $1.2M data center with Los Alamos: planned US$1.2m project; stated potential to use up to 110 MW phased over 5–10 years and up to 500,000 gallons/day of water (local concerns cited on bills, environmental impacts, and zoning exemptions).

• Canada: rural connectivity investment (relevant to edge/last-mile enablement)

  • Canada and Alberta fund high‑speed Internet for 82,584 Alberta households: up to $224.78m (combined federal/provincial) for 26 projects reaching 82,584 households (including 1,634 Indigenous households); plus >$24.5m to Arrow Technology Group reaching 1,059 households (including 676 Indigenous).

Europe

• France (Paris): portfolio M&A and AI-density positioning
  • nLighten acquires Émerainville Paris data center from oXya: nLighten acquired an Émerainville facility near Paris (about 1 km from PAR1), adding its 8th French site and taking the platform to 30+ data centres across seven markets. Site to keep serving oXya under a long-term master services agreement; described as designed for high-density, AI-ready configurations.

Power, grid capacity, and energy infrastructure

Grid constraints are changing where capacity gets built (Europe)

• Power constraints drive European data centre growth to new regions flagged grid capacity constraints pushing expansion toward the Nordics, Spain, and Portugal (cooler climates and renewables).
  • Power-demand forecast cited: 96 TWh (2024) → 168 TWh (2030).
  • Heat reuse example cited: atNorth supplying surplus heat from its Espoo data centre to Kesko, cutting >200 tCO2 annually.

US system-level demand outlook and annual build requirement (policy research)

• EESI: Data centers, low-emission cement, hydrogen, and policy noted rising demand that could reach up to 12% of U.S. electricity by 2028 and suggested the system may require roughly ~80 GW of new capacity per year (as presented in the newsletter).

Storage financing signal relevant to power-constrained AI campuses

• Redwood raises US$425m to scale battery recycling and storage: Redwood Materials closed a US$425m Series E (Google joined investors led by Eclipse; participation from Capricorn, Goldman Sachs Alternatives, and NVentures).
  • Proceeds intended to accelerate Redwood Energy grid-scale storage deployments, including a cited 12 MW / 63 MWh system deployed for Crusoe, and to scale Pack Manager-based BESS positioned for data centres and AI infrastructure.

Policy and regulation

Broadband / digital infrastructure policy (US)

• Senators seek reauthorization of USDA middle-mile broadband program: proposed Middle Mile for Rural America Act to reauthorize USDA middle-mile program for five years (2026–2031), aiming to strengthen Rural Utilities Service authority to fund loans, loan guarantees, and grants for stand-alone middle-mile projects.

EU agenda items with potential downstream relevance to data-centre power and networks

• Cyprus Presidency debriefs European Parliament committees on priorities: Cyprus Presidency (to June 2026) committed to advancing files including the Digital Networks Act and electricity grid proposals (among broader priorities).

Operators, platforms, and “AI factory” positioning (market structure signals)

• Neocloud positioning for dedicated AI training/inference

  • Massed Compute positions neoclouds as infrastructure for AI factories: described “AI factories” vs traditional data centres/hyperscalers, emphasizing predictable GPU performance, high-throughput data pipelines, AI-optimized networking, and low-latency inference.

• Developer/operator business-model separation

  • T5 unveils two paths: T5 Services and T5 Properties: T5 announced two paths—T5 Services (construction/operations) and T5 Properties (development/ownership/portfolio strategy)—with optional integration; no timelines or financial details provided.

Two-line close

Capital intensity is still rising, but financing structures and power availability are increasingly shaping where and how new AI capacity gets built.
Expect more experimentation in customer-funded models and storage-backed power solutions as grid constraints bite.