Dhiraagu launches third data center in Maldives
Dhiraagu has launched its third data center in the Maldives, opening a Tier III-level facility in N. Velidhoo. The inauguration was led by CEO Ismail Rasheed and Velidhoo Island Council president Athif Hussain. The company said the site will help businesses “securely host and safeguard their data closer to their operations” while improving cloud service resilience and business continuity across the atolls. Dhiraagu, founded in 1988 and majority-owned by Beyon and the Maldivian government, also landed the SeaMeWe-6 cable last year and operates another data center in Hulhumalé, where Ooredoo built a facility in 2021.
DayOne to expand CTP1 Thailand data center to 300MW, signs MoU with Amata for CTP2
DayOne will significantly expand its CTP1 data center in Chonburi, Thailand, increasing its planned capacity from 180MW to 300MW with the addition of 16.3 acres of adjacent land. The company ultimately intends to scale the full Chonburi Tech Park campus to 1GW. DayOne has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Amata Corporation to develop a second campus, known as CTP2.
As part of the expansion, DayOne entered a Power Purchase Agreement with Amata B.Grimm Renewable Energy (Ambre). Ambre will supply renewable electricity from a 22kV floating solar plant with an initial capacity of 42.5MWp, starting in 2027. Amata’s chairman Vikrom Kromadit said the partnership will deliver “the infrastructure and sustainable utilities global investors need to succeed.” DayOne CEO Jamie Khoo added that Thailand remains a key pillar of the company’s regional strategy.
Rumble confirms bid to acquire Northern Data
Rumble has confirmed a bid to acquire AI cloud provider Northern Data, signing a business combination agreement and preparing a voluntary public exchange offer to all shareholders. The deal would give Rumble access to one of Europe’s largest GPU estates, including 20,480 Nvidia H100s and 2,048 H200s, and expand its data center footprint across Germany, Sweden, Norway, Portugal, the Netherlands, the UK, and the US. CEO Chris Pavlovski said: “Northern Data. Tether. Rumble. This is how we build the AI ecosystem for the future, from the ground up,” adding that the company aims to pursue a “Freedom-First” tech strategy that emphasizes free speech, privacy, and independence. Northern Data shareholders will receive 2.0281 Rumble Class A shares per share tendered, representing about 30.4 percent of the combined company, while major shareholders including Tether have agreed to participate under the same terms.
Google to invest €5.5bn in German data centres & cloud expansion
Google will invest €5.5 billion in Germany between 2026 and 2029, including a new data center in Dietzenbach, continued upgrades to its Hanau campus, and expanded offices in Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich. The company will also extend its 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy partnership with Engie through 2030, introduce its first local heat-recovery project, and expects its German operations to run at or near 85 percent carbon-free energy by 2026. Google says the initiative will contribute around €1.016 billion to Germany’s GDP annually and support about 9,000 jobs per year.
The company is also scaling digital skills and STEM programs through new partnerships in Hanau, while expanding its Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich offices with new workspace, public areas and TechTalk rooms. Philipp Justus said: “With today’s announcement, Google is deepening its roots in Germany, extending our investments in the country and creating new avenues for AI-driven transformation.” Marianne Janik added: “A sovereign digital future must be built in Europe, for Europe… We are here to be a trusted partner for Germany, co-creating a future that is secure, sovereign, sustainable and powered by world-changing innovation.”
GDC breaks ground at its Johor AI data center site
Malaysia’s Global Data Centre Sdn. Bhd. (GDC) has broken ground on its 21MW AI data center in Sedenak Tech Park, Johor. Known as GDC-SDK1, the facility will sit on 3.166 acres, support 1,000 racks at 125kW per rack, and target a PUE of 1.25, with power expected by Q2 2026. According to the company, the site will host up to 10,000 GPU-chip clusters, including 4090, 5090, H100, and H200 models, and is designed for next-generation chips. GDC is led by Dato’ Stanley Ling, who also co-founded IRIX and played a key role in the 700km BaSICS subsea cable system, and in establishing Sarawak’s first Tier 4 data center.
Portugal secures $10 billion Microsoft investment to build major European AI data centre
Microsoft will invest US$10 billion to build a major AI data centre in Sines, Portugal, marking one of Europe’s largest AI-infrastructure commitments. In partnership with Start Campus, Nscale and NVIDIA, the project will deploy 12,600 next-generation NVIDIA GPUs to expand Europe’s AI computing capacity. Start Campus is already developing a €8.5bn data centre hub in Sines, where one of six planned buildings is live. “By strengthening the national AI infrastructure through collaboration with Nscale, NVIDIA, and Start Campus, we are helping to position Portugal as a benchmark for the responsible and scalable development of AI in Europe,” said Brad Smith, Microsoft’s Vice Chair and President. Positioned on key subsea cable routes and supported by major green-energy investments, Sines is emerging as a strategic European digital infrastructure hub.
Portugal secures $10 billion Microsoft investment to build major European AI data centre
Microsoft will invest US$10 billion to build a major AI data centre in Sines, Portugal, marking one of Europe’s largest AI-infrastructure commitments. In partnership with Start Campus, Nscale and NVIDIA, the project will deploy 12,600 next-generation NVIDIA GPUs to expand Europe’s AI computing capacity. Start Campus is already developing a €8.5bn data centre hub in Sines, where one of six planned buildings is live. “By strengthening the national AI infrastructure through collaboration with Nscale, NVIDIA, and Start Campus, we are helping to position Portugal as a benchmark for the responsible and scalable development of AI in Europe,” said Brad Smith, Microsoft’s Vice Chair and President. Positioned on key subsea cable routes and supported by major green-energy investments, Sines is emerging as a strategic European digital infrastructure hub.
Microsoft files to build UK data center outside Leeds
Microsoft has filed plans to build a new data center campus at Skelton Grange outside Leeds, UK, on land it bought last year for £106.6 million. The company aims to construct three data centers of around 424,000 sq ft each along with an on-site substation, with construction potentially starting in early 2027. The site formerly hosted the 800MW Skelton Grange coal power station, decommissioned in the 1980s and 1990s. This is Microsoft’s second planned campus near Leeds, following a proposal in 2024 to build at the former Eggborough power station. In the US, Microsoft also expanded its holdings near its Mount Pleasant data center campus in Wisconsin, acquiring around 135 additional acres and now owning more than 2,000 acres in the area.
South African real estate firm Cavaleros Group launches data center unit, plans two campuses
South Africa’s Cavaleros Group has launched a new data center unit, Cosmas Data Cities, with plans for two large campuses in Johannesburg and Cape Town. The Johannesburg site in Samrand could provide 200MW supported by a 450MW self-built switching station, while the 100-acre Cape Town development is planned for 360MW. Working with Knight Frank and engineering firm Future-tech, the company said these projects continue its legacy of “vision, quality, and long-term partnerships,” with CEO Penny Cavaleros noting they aim to drive Africa’s digital transformation.
Knight Frank’s Oscar Matthews emphasized South Africa’s strategic position as a key gateway for hyperscalers and global enterprises, and Future-tech’s Will Clarke said the self-built switching station makes Johannesburg one of the most deployment-ready locations for hyperscale and AI investment. Cavaleros also said it has additional data center projects planned for East and West Africa.
Du and NextGenAI partner for 13MW Nvidia B300 deployment in UAE
Du and NextGenAI have partnered to deploy a 13MW AI supercluster at Du’s DSO data center in Dubai, expanding on a previous 5MW installation from 2024. The cluster features direct-to-chip liquid-cooled Nvidia B300 GPUs, offering computational capacity “previously unavailable in the Middle East market,” according to Du. CEO Fahad Al Hassawi said: “Our partnership with NextGenAI represents Du’s commitment to pioneering the future of AI infrastructure in the Middle East,” adding that the deployment will help shape the region’s AI-driven economy.
Du operates five data centers in the UAE and earlier this year signed a $544.54 million deal with Microsoft to develop a new hyperscale facility, where Microsoft will be the main tenant. The partnership comes as the US government has begun approving export licenses for Nvidia GPUs to the UAE, following delays despite a bilateral agreement made in May. However, comments from President Trump asserting that nobody “other than the United States” will have access to Nvidia’s most advanced Blackwell GPUs have raised questions about future international deployments.
India’s Techno Digital plans to invest $1bn for data center capacity
India’s Techno Digital planea invertir US$1,000 millones para expandir su capacidad de centros de datos hasta alcanzar 250MW en los próximos cinco años, según su CEO Ankit Saraiya. La empresa también trabaja en la creación de “centros de datos Edge interconectados en redes de fibra óptica ferroviaria” junto con RailTel, compañía estatal de banda ancha, con la meta de desarrollar alrededor de 100 de estas instalaciones en los próximos años.
Lanzada en mayo como una subsidiaria de Techno Electric, Techno Digital ya opera un centro de datos de 36MW en Chennai y tiene otros dos en desarrollo: uno en Kolkata con 20MW proyectados y otro en Noida. India continúa consolidándose como un mercado clave para la infraestructura digital, con una capacidad total en desarrollo que supera ampliamente la actualmente activa, reflejando su rápido crecimiento impulsado por la demanda de servicios en la nube y aplicaciones de inteligencia artificial.
Omnia, backed by Pátria, joins TikTok’s $9bn data center project in Brazil
Omnia, la plataforma de centros de datos respaldada por el fondo brasileño Pátria, desarrollará un enorme data center de 50 mil millones de reales (US$9.4bn) en el complejo portuario de Pecém, Ceará, que servirá exclusivamente a TikTok, según Reuters. Aunque ByteDance no ha comentado oficialmente, fuentes cercanas al proyecto confirmaron que TikTok será el único cliente. Se espera que el campus consuma unos 300MW, lo que lo convertiría en el mayor data center dedicado a un solo cliente en Brasil. La construcción comenzará este año y la puesta en marcha está prevista para 2027. Omnia invertirá alrededor de 12 mil millones de reales (US$2.25bn) en infraestructura física, mientras que el cliente asumirá la compra del hardware, incluidos servidores y sistemas de almacenamiento.
El proyecto incluye una alianza con Casa dos Ventos, que construirá nuevos parques eólicos con una inversión de 3.5 mil millones de reales (US$653m) para suministrar energía renovable al centro de datos. La empresa señaló que el objetivo es garantizar un suministro limpio, estable y a largo plazo, alineado con las metas de sostenibilidad del proyecto.
Spain’s Templus breaks ground on data center in Ceuta
Templus inició oficialmente la construcción de su nuevo centro de datos en Ceuta, colocando la primera piedra en el muelle de la Puntilla. El proyecto contempla una superficie de 2,500 m² y una capacidad inicial de 1.2MW, ampliable a 2.4MW en una segunda fase. La instalación, que forma parte de la red nacional de la compañía, estará operativa en la primera mitad de 2026. El CEO de Templus, Nacho Velilla, destacó la ventaja estratégica de Ceuta como enclave africano con beneficios regulatorios y de conectividad europeos, lo que influyó en la decisión de construir una instalación desde cero.
El operador, lanzado en 2024 tras la adquisición del negocio de data centers de Avatel por ICG y Teras Capital, ha expandido rápidamente su huella en España con centros en Madrid, Barcelona, Málaga, Sevilla, Mallorca y ahora Ceuta, sumando 15.8MW de capacidad. Tras comprar un centro de Mapfre en Madrid y el bitNAP de Barcelona a Cellnex, Templus aspira a alcanzar 20 centros en la península para finales de 2025 y ya evalúa nuevas ubicaciones en Valencia, País Vasco, Galicia y Portugal.
