Key Takeaways
- • Data centres captured 35% of global real estate fund-raising in H1 2025 (US$39bn of US$110bn total), more than double their 15% historical average since 2020, signalling the sector's strongest year on record driven by AI and digital infrastructure demand.
- • The global data centre market requires US$3 trillion in cumulative spending by 2029 to support AI and cloud computing growth, but hyperscaler tech giants (Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, Google) can only self-fund half their projected US$400bn+ annual capex, leaving a US$1.5 trillion financing gap for private capital.
- • Real estate-specific fund-raising in 2025 addresses just 2.5% of the identified infrastructure gap; even sustained annual fund-raising of US$50bn over five years would cover only 17% of the shortfall, presenting a structural investment opportunity for private equity, institutional investors, and sovereign wealth funds.
- • Global data centre supply has grown from 30 GW in 2019 to 57 GW in 2024 (representing US$324bn in cumulative investment), with projections for approximately 10% annual market growth through 2030 as AI infrastructure demands accelerate.
Summary
Global real estate fund-raising has rebounded sharply in 2025, raising over US$110 billion in the first half of the year and positioning the market to exceed the prior year's US$161 billion total. The sector's most significant development is the surge in data centre investment, which now accounts for 35% of all global real estate capital raises—a dramatic shift from the 15% historical average since 2020. According to Colliers analysis, the sector raised an estimated US$39 billion in H1 2025, with data centre strategies representing four of the top ten fund closes by mid-year. This momentum reflects the financial and infrastructural demands of accelerating AI and digital transformation across enterprise and hyperscale computing.
However, the scale of current fund-raising must be contextualised against a far larger capital requirement. The global data centre market will require approximately US$3 trillion in total spending by 2029 to maintain infrastructure parity with AI and cloud computing adoption. Major technology firms—Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google—are leading hyperscale data centre development, with combined projected capex exceeding US$400 billion in 2026 alone. Despite substantial internal cashflows, these companies can only self-fund approximately half of their infrastructure requirements, creating a documented US$1.5 trillion financing gap. This gap must be filled through private equity, institutional capital, sovereign wealth funds, and debt markets.
The current volume of real estate-focused fund-raising reveals the scope of this opportunity and challenge. H1 2025's US$39 billion in data centre fund-raising represents just 2.5% of the identified US$1.5 trillion gap. Even under an optimistic scenario of sustained annual capital raises of US$50 billion over five years, the real estate sector would address only approximately 17% of the total shortfall. This structural mismatch between available private capital and infrastructure demand underscores a multiyear investment thesis for alternative asset managers, with data centre real estate positioned as a core infrastructure asset class within the broader AI capex cycle. The sector has achieved measurable growth momentum, with global data centre supply expanding from 30 GW in 2019 to 57 GW in 2024, representing US$324 billion in cumulative investment and supporting the industry's projected 10% annual growth rate through 2030.
However, the scale of current fund-raising must be contextualised against a far larger capital requirement. The global data centre market will require approximately US$3 trillion in total spending by 2029 to maintain infrastructure parity with AI and cloud computing adoption. Major technology firms—Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google—are leading hyperscale data centre development, with combined projected capex exceeding US$400 billion in 2026 alone. Despite substantial internal cashflows, these companies can only self-fund approximately half of their infrastructure requirements, creating a documented US$1.5 trillion financing gap. This gap must be filled through private equity, institutional capital, sovereign wealth funds, and debt markets.
The current volume of real estate-focused fund-raising reveals the scope of this opportunity and challenge. H1 2025's US$39 billion in data centre fund-raising represents just 2.5% of the identified US$1.5 trillion gap. Even under an optimistic scenario of sustained annual capital raises of US$50 billion over five years, the real estate sector would address only approximately 17% of the total shortfall. This structural mismatch between available private capital and infrastructure demand underscores a multiyear investment thesis for alternative asset managers, with data centre real estate positioned as a core infrastructure asset class within the broader AI capex cycle. The sector has achieved measurable growth momentum, with global data centre supply expanding from 30 GW in 2019 to 57 GW in 2024, representing US$324 billion in cumulative investment and supporting the industry's projected 10% annual growth rate through 2030.
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