As artificial intelligence adoption accelerates, the demand for AI-ready infrastructure is reaching unprecedented levels. Leading the charge is Digital Realty, one of the world’s largest data center operators, which is rapidly expanding its footprint and rethinking facility design to meet AI’s massive needs.
Unlike traditional IT workloads, AI training and inference require extraordinary amounts of computing power and energy. Dense clusters of GPUs generate extreme heat and demand higher rack power — far beyond what most legacy data centers can handle. Digital Realty is responding with aggressive investments in new capacity, strategic land acquisitions, and innovative designs optimized specifically for AI.
Digital Realty has positioned itself for the AI boom by securing land and power years ahead of current demand. The company holds a land inventory capable of supporting nearly 4 gigawatts of future capacity, including major developments in key markets like Northern Virginia (Source). This forward-looking strategy allows them to rapidly build mega-campuses when needed, a critical advantage as AI-driven demand surges.
Currently operating over 300 data centers worldwide, Digital Realty is expanding aggressively across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific to ensure global availability for hyperscale and enterprise customers deploying AI solutions.
Digital Realty isn’t just adding more space; it’s designing facilities to handle AI’s intense requirements. Future data centers will feature much higher power densities — supporting 30 to 60 kilowatts or more per rack — compared to the traditional 5–10 kW loads. Advanced liquid cooling solutions, modular power deployments, and smart energy management are becoming standard as they reengineer for AI clusters.
Cooling innovations are especially critical. To manage the heat from massive AI workloads, Digital Realty is exploring options like direct-to-chip cooling and immersion systems that far outperform traditional air cooling. These technologies allow more compute in less space, helping clients run AI workloads efficiently without overheating risks.
Recognizing AI’s enormous energy demands, Digital Realty is also doubling down on sustainability. The company has pledged to achieve carbon neutrality for its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030 and is securing renewable energy for new developments whenever possible (Source). As AI projects grow, sustainability is no longer optional — it’s a core requirement.
Their approach combines renewable energy sourcing, improved power usage effectiveness (PUE), and exploring future-forward energy options, ensuring AI growth doesn’t come at the environment’s expense.
Digital Realty’s early investments, strategic expansions, and infrastructure innovation position it at the forefront of the AI data center boom. At Arkitech Group, we are proud to count Digital Realty among our trusted partners. However, every AI initiative is different — and we work with a wide range of leading data center providers to match you with the right solution. Whether it’s Digital Realty or another top-tier partner, we can help you find the space, power, and scalability you need to fuel your AI success.