Issue #30

Editor's Note

North America

• Anthropic signs another $4.3bn in compute agreements with Microsoft

  Anthropic disclosed up to $4.3 billion in additional Microsoft compute agreements and said its $34.9 billion Lambda agreement is now terminable after Lambda missed a facility lease deadline, though neither party has terminated it. For hiring leaders in AI infrastructure, these developments underline the importance of capacity procurement and facility delivery expertise, with staffing plans tied to confirmed project commitments.

• Elon Musk’s SpaceX targets nat-gas plant and supercomputing facility at Starbase City, Texas

  SpaceX is proposing a phased natural gas power plant and supercomputing facility near Brownsville, Texas, with potential investment of up to $24 billion and a property tax abatement agreement scheduled for consideration on December 9. If developed, the project would create demand for power generation, data center construction and operations expertise in South Texas, although staffing requirements have not been disclosed.

• After Election Day in the US, the data-center boom is about to look very different

  Incoming governors in Texas, Ohio and Georgia support pauses on new data-center construction following the 2026 US midterm elections, with analysts warning of heightened regulatory friction across more than half the US hyperscale pipeline. For hiring leaders, potential construction delays create uncertainty around project staffing timelines and make regulatory and permitting expertise relevant to workforce planning.

EMEA

• Mubbadrah leads USD $3 billion Oman AI data centre plan

  Mubbadrah Investment has formed a consortium to develop an AI data centre campus in Oman with up to 400 MW of capacity and an initial investment of USD $3 billion, supported by planned solar generation and battery storage. If the project proceeds, it would create demand for data centre development, design, construction management and power integration expertise in Oman.

• Europe’s data centre protests follow US election backlash

  More than 100 groups launched protests across 15 European countries calling for a moratorium on large-scale data centres, following preliminary US election results favouring restrictions in 40 of 41 local ballot measures. Growing opposition and tighter planning and grid rules make permitting, community engagement and power infrastructure expertise important for development teams, while creating uncertainty around project staffing timelines.

• AI datacentres plan on-site power stations on huge scale despite climate risks, research reveals

  BloombergNEF research found proposals for 181GW of on-site gas-fired capacity at planned AI data centres across the US, UK and mainland Europe to address grid connection delays, raising concerns about long-term emissions. If these projects proceed, developers will need teams with expertise in power generation, grid connections, environmental permitting and plant operations alongside data centre delivery.

APAC

• AirTrunk Scraps $689M Sydney Data Centre as Stockland Drops Cooks River Plan

  AirTrunk abandoned its proposed 140MW data centre in Sydney’s Lane Cove West, citing unsuitable terrain and limited scale, while Stockland and John Boyd Properties removed a data centre from their Kogarah redevelopment plans. The withdrawals reduce the pipeline of Sydney data centre projects that would require construction and operations teams, while highlighting the importance of site assessment, planning and community engagement expertise for development teams.

• Google Commits $15B to Malaysia Expansion as First Data Centre Goes Live

  Google announced plans to invest $15 billion in Malaysian digital infrastructure in 2027-28, including new campuses in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, as its first Malaysian data centre began operating. The expansion and associated clean energy and water projects are likely to increase demand for data centre construction, operations and utility infrastructure talent in these markets.

• NextDC Shares Jump 51% as Goodman, Digital Realty Pursue $500M Stake

  NextDC shares rose nearly 51 percent after Goodman Group and Digital Realty sought a combined stake of up to 9.9 percent, valued at approximately $500 million, in the Australian data centre operator. With electricity network delays prompting NextDC to pause new developments and land purchases, hiring leaders face uncertain expansion timelines and a clear need for power delivery and project risk expertise.