M&A, AI, regulatory challenges, geopolitics, hyperscale, self-build
The sector had a busy week, with M&A, more developments in AI and further activity in hyperscale data centre self-builds.
Recent M&A activity happened across a number of different areas. On the data centre side, DataBank sold its portfolio of French data centres to Etix Everywhere, while in interconnection, Infratil acquired a majority stake in SDN platform Console Connect. Meanwhile, there is growing activity in AI from a strategic perspective. Webscale provider DigitalOcean acquired a provider called Paperspace that specializes in GPUs oriented to hosting AI workloads.
AI has emerged as a demand driver across the ecosystem and MSPs are getting into the act and carving out a position within the value chain. Rackspace recently rolled out a new AI practice called FAIR, which will be led by a member of its C-level executive team.
On the regulatory side, AI and its strategic importance has resulted in proposed legislation that would make it difficult for Chinese companies to use AI-oriented infrastructure services provided by US entities. This will be something to follow and could impact demand trajectories for both US and Chinese operators.
Finally, hyperscalers continue to expand and implement self-build strategies. AWS is adding significant capacity for cloud infrastructure in the increasingly strategic Ohio region, while Microsoft revealed some self-build plans in Sydney, Australia.
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