AI May No Longer Require Big Data Centers to Scale

AI May No Longer Require Big Data Centers to Scale

For the past several years, the AI boom has been inseparable from a race in cloud capacity. Training large models and running inference at scale drove unprecedented capital expenditures across hyperscalers, reinforcing the idea that bigger models required bigger data centers. A growing body of research is now challenging that assumption, arguing that the infrastructure requirements of artificial intelligence have been shaped more by early archit…

AI Drives a Transformative Wave in Global Data Centers - and Energy Is the Real Bottleneck

The 2026 Global Data Center Outlook from JLL highlights a major shift in the data center industry. Global capacity is expected to nearly double, from 103 gigawatts in 2025 to 200 gigawatts by 2030, driven by growing artificial intelligence (AI) workloads. This rapid growth comes amid power constraints, rising energy costs, and stricter environmental rules, making energy strategy as important as technology and real estate.  The report frames this…