Issue #22
16 September 2026
Editor's Note
The talent movement this week is the story worth paying attention to. Krupal Raval, who spent five years at Digital Realty before running the xScale hyperscale build-out at Equinix and then a year as chief strategy officer at CyrusOne, has been named CEO of Theseus Infrastructure, the new Anthropic-backed platform funded by Macquarie and GIC. In the same week, Crux, the Google and Blackstone-backed TPU neocloud, hired Meta's data center engineering head Alan Duong. Two of the most experienced operators in the industry moving from established players into new, well-capitalised platforms tells you exactly where senior talent is flowing right now, and it is not staying at the companies that trained them.
Google's $15 billion commitment to Finland's AI infrastructure is also worth reading properly. Finland has quietly built one of Europe's strongest cases for AI infrastructure investment, and a commitment at this scale from Google reinforces that. UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham rejecting calls for a national data center moratorium is a meaningful policy signal in a market where opposition has been growing steadily.
North America
- Brookfield to acquire a minority interest in American Real Estate Partners
Brookfield continues to diversify its exposure across the real estate and infrastructure spectrum that increasingly intersects with data center development.
- Former Digital Realty and Equinix executive named CEO of Anthropic-backed Theseus Infrastructure
A veteran of Digital Realty, Equinix, and CyrusOne taking the helm of Anthropic's dedicated infrastructure platform is a significant hire. It signals how seriously frontier AI labs are recruiting proven hyperscale operators to run their infrastructure arms.
- Google-Blackstone's TPU neocloud named Crux AI, hires Meta's data center engineering head Alan Duong
Another senior hyperscale executive moving to a well-funded neocloud platform. The pattern of experienced operators leaving established players for new entrants is becoming difficult to ignore.
EMEA
- Google To Invest US$15bn in Finland's AI Infrastructure
Finland's cold climate, renewable power, and grid stability continue to make it one of the more compelling Nordic markets, and this commitment reinforces that positioning.
- Digital Realty enters Turkey, plans 22MW facility in Ankara
A new market entry for Digital Realty signals confidence in Turkey's fundamentals as a connectivity and data sovereignty hub between Europe and the Middle East.
- UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham rejects calls for national data center moratorium
A meaningful policy signal in a market where opposition to data center development has been building. This keeps the UK's development pipeline moving at a time when other jurisdictions are pausing.
Asia Pacific
- DayOne breaks ground on data center in Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo remains one of APAC's most sought after primary markets. DayOne's continued expansion there reflects sustained demand despite land and power constraints.
- Google Cloud opens Singapore engineering centre for AI
A dedicated AI engineering centre in Singapore reinforces the city-state's position as a technical hub for the region, even as physical data center capacity remains constrained.
- How Firmus and OpenAI Plan to Power AI Factories in Malaysia
Malaysia continues to attract major AI infrastructure commitments, reinforcing its position as one of Southeast Asia's most credible markets for large scale compute.
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