February 05, 2026

Global data centres & digital infrastructure briefing (UTC 2026-02-05)

Audience: Institutional asset managers and infrastructure fund managers focused on data centres, power, and grid infrastructure
Scope: Global

Top news (3)

1. Hyperscaler spend reset higher: Alphabet CEO Highlights Gemini 3, AI Growth and CapEx Plan sets 2026 CapEx guidance of $175–$185bn, tied to AI growth across Search/Cloud/YouTube, and plans to acquire Intersect for data centre and energy infrastructure solutions.

2. Large-scale DC/HPC financing in Texas: Cipher Mining prices $2.0B senior secured notes for Black Pearl — subsidiary Black Pearl Compute LLC priced $2.0bn of 6.125% senior secured notes due 2031 to fund completion of an HPC data centre in Wink, Texas (close expected 11 Feb 2026, subject to conditions).

3. Regulation-driven design becomes core requirement: Data sovereignty as a core principle for digital infrastructure design argues data sovereignty should be designed-in (modular, carrier-neutral, multi-cloud), pointing to GDPR and DORA (effective Jan 2025) plus country-level residency rules across multiple markets.

Key deals & projects

North America (US)

• Texas (Wink) – HPC buildout financing

  • Cipher Mining prices $2.0B senior secured notes for Black Pearl:
    • Instrument: $2.0bn 6.125% senior secured notes, maturity 2031.
    • Use of proceeds: completion of Black Pearl HPC data centre; also to reimburse Cipher ~$232.5m for prior equity contributions, fund debt service reserves, and pay fees/expenses.
    • Timeline: offering expected to close Feb 11, 2026 (subject to market conditions).

• Michigan – enterprise comms platform rollout (demand-side digital infrastructure)

  • 123NET partners with Intermedia to launch UCaaS and CCaaS: partnership to deliver AI-powered UCaaS/CCaaS across Michigan, including AI call intelligence, CRM integrations, business SMS, enhanced video, and retention up to 10 years.

Global (US-headquartered hyperscaler)

• Hyperscaler CapEx and M&A signal
  • Alphabet CEO Highlights Gemini 3, AI Growth and CapEx Plan:
    • 2026 CapEx guidance: $175–$185bn.
    • Strategic intent: acquire Intersect to support data centre and energy infrastructure solutions.

Europe (cloud consumption / operating leverage)

• Cost/performance leverage from bare metal adoption
  • Cryptomate credits OVHcloud bare metal for growth, cost savings: Cryptomate migration to OVHcloud bare metal reported >30% infrastructure cost reduction and 50% faster transaction processing, supporting $100m annualized transaction volume.

Power, grid, and interconnection highlights

Nordics

• Nordic positioning for AI-ready, power-efficient builds
  • Nordic model enables sustainable, AI-ready data centre development highlights the Nordics as a benchmark for scaling AI infrastructure with emphasis on:
    • Power availability and grid resilience
    • Cooling efficiency
    • Long-term renewable energy investment
    • Circular infrastructure and surplus heat reuse via partnerships integrating data centres with local energy systems

Macro/markets (rates and investment cycle)

• Monetary policy context relevant to capex-heavy DC builds
  • Bowman outlines economic outlook and monetary policy risks: notes FOMC actions have cut the federal funds rate by 75 bps since September to 3.5–3.75%; also explicitly cites AI-related investment and data centre projects as supporting economic activity/productivity, while flagging risks including potential equity corrections and weaker hiring.

Policy & regulation

Europe and cross-border design requirements

• Data sovereignty as an infrastructure design constraint (not an afterthought)
  • Data sovereignty as a core principle for digital infrastructure design calls for modular, carrier-neutral, multi-cloud data centres aligned to:
    • GDPR
    • DORA (effective Jan 2025)
    • Regional requirements noted in the piece: France HDS, UK CNI designation and the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, and Japan’s tightened transfer rules
    • Country-level residency rules referenced: India, Vietnam, Brazil
    • Standards/metrics cited: ISO/IEC, NIST, plus sustainability metrics PUE/CUE/WUE

EU-aligned ecosystem/standards direction (data portability and compliance tooling)

• Frameworks aimed at compliance automation and reducing lock-in
  • Gaia-X releases Powered-by-Gaia-X value-creation scenarios publication for ecosystems: Gaia-X AISBL published “Powered by Gaia-X” Value-Creation Scenarios (2026) describing five scenarios and examples (AgrospAI, COOPERANTS, Dynamo.cloud, CISPE, Pontus-X) and positioning the Gaia-X Trust Framework as enabling outcomes like automated regulatory compliance and mitigation of vendor lock-in.

2-line close

Hyperscaler guidance and large secured financings continue to set the pace for capacity buildout, while sovereign/regulatory constraints are increasingly dictating how and where infrastructure can be deployed.
Expect capital allocation and site selection to stay tightly linked to power availability, grid resilience, and compliance-by-design requirements.