Australian Superannuation Fund Makes a Major $2 Billion Investment, DataBank Expands Data Centers Amid AI Boom!

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Published inAI News · 4 min read · Oct 16, 2024

DataBank, a data center developer based in the United States, has announced the successful raising of nearly 3 billion AUD (approximately 2.01 billion USD) to construct three new data center facilities across the country. Leading this round of financing is AustralianSuper, Australia's largest pension fund.

Robot Data Center AI (1)

Image source: This image was generated by AI, provided by the image licensing service Midjourney.

AustralianSuper stated on Wednesday that it has invested 2.2 billion AUD into DataBank's financing plan, becoming a minority shareholder of the American company. Additionally, AustralianSuper will appoint a director to DataBank's board. This round of financing not only reflects confidence in DataBank's future development but also highlights investors' strong interest in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector, driving rapid growth in data center projects.

With the rapid rise of AI technology, the global demand for data centers is increasing. Derek Chu, the head of AustralianSuper's U.S. real estate assets, said: "Our investment in DataBank is perfectly timed, with the company having enormous growth potential and the industry's favorable development trends, making us very optimistic."

In this round of financing, DataBank's controlling investor, DigitalBridge, also participated, responsible for appointing most of the company's board members. DataBank's expansion plans include constructing a 120 MW campus in Atlanta, a 480 MW campus in South Dallas, and a 192 MW campus in Culpeper, Virginia.

It is worth noting that AustralianSuper collaborated with DigitalBridge last year to invest 2.5 billion AUD in a major European data center company. As the global demand for digital infrastructure intensifies, especially in Southeast Asian countries, investors are actively seeking opportunities in this field.

Key points:

🌍 AustralianSuper leads with a 2.2 billion AUD investment, becoming a minority shareholder in DataBank.

💡 DataBank plans to build three large data centers in the U.S., in response to the AI boom.

📈 The global demand for data centers continues to grow, with investors actively participating.

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