Issue #26

Editor's Note

North America

• Microsoft acquires 600 acres of land for data center in Woodward, Iowa

  Microsoft acquired 600 acres in Woodward, Iowa, for a potential cloud computing and data storage campus, with design expected to take two to three years before construction begins. For hiring leaders in the Des Moines market, the timeline points to longer-term workforce planning for construction and operations teams rather than an immediate operational hiring need.

• Soluna files to build 112MW data center building in Willacy, Texas

  Soluna filed plans for Project Kati II, a 112MW data center in Willacy, Texas, with an estimated construction cost of $471.8 million and no construction timeline disclosed. The proposed development could create demand for construction, electrical engineering and data center operations talent in the region, although hiring plans have not been announced.

• Oracle, Broadcom, and SpaceX looking to secure ten of billions in financing to support AI compute purchases – report

  Oracle, Broadcom and SpaceX are reportedly seeking financing for AI compute hardware purchases, with Broadcom seeking more than $50 billion and SpaceX pursuing $40 billion. If secured, the financing could increase demand for teams skilled in hardware procurement, AI infrastructure deployment and financial management.

EMEA

• Nebius signs LOI with Volt for data center capacity in Rotterdam, the Netherlands

  Nebius signed a letter of intent to become the first capacity customer at Volt's planned 600MW AI data center campus in Rotterdam, where the initial phase comprises two 100MW facilities. If developed, the project would require teams with expertise in data center construction, power, cooling and AI infrastructure operations, although no hiring plans were announced.

• Waste heat from Goodman data center in Frankfurt, Germany, to power district heating system

  Goodman signed an agreement with Neu-Isenburg and local utility SWNI to supply up to 50MW of recovered heat from its planned FRA02 data center to a district heating network serving 600 buildings. The project highlights the need for teams with heat recovery, cooling integration and utility coordination expertise as data centers become part of local energy infrastructure in Germany.

• Aether Infrastructure buys old gearbox factory in Strasbourg, France, for AI data center

  Aether Infrastructures has signed a preliminary agreement to buy a former gearbox factory in Strasbourg for its first AI data center, targeting a 2027 opening and planning on-site production of data center modules. The development would create demand for construction, module assembly, testing and data center operations skills in the Strasbourg market, although hiring numbers have not been announced.

APAC

• Iren targets 900MW data center campus in Wagga Wagga, Australia

  Iren has proposed a 900MW data center campus near Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, with early assessments underway and a grid connection targeted from 2029. If developed, the project would create demand for construction, power infrastructure and data center operations talent in regional New South Wales.

• AirTrunk to delay IPO amid rising interest rates - report

  AirTrunk reportedly plans to delay its $1.5 billion Singapore IPO until 2027 because of high interest rates and market volatility, following listing setbacks at PLDT and Firmus. For hiring leaders in Asia-Pacific digital infrastructure, these financing delays add uncertainty to expansion-linked workforce planning, although the article reports no changes to AirTrunk's hiring or staffing.

• NTT to build $6.3bn data center for Anthropic in Japan - report

  NTT Data Group is reportedly finalizing an agreement to develop a $6.3 billion data center for Anthropic in Osaka Prefecture, with up to 500MW of capacity and partial operations expected in 2028. If finalized, the project would add demand for data center construction, power, cooling and operations expertise in Japan.