New projects announced across the global data center sector in 2026 could add more than 20 gigawatts of new capacity to the market over the next several years, according to a Datacenters.com analysis of projects currently under development or in advanced planning. With more than 1,297 operational hyperscale centers worldwide as of late 2025, hyperscale capacity is on track to double by 2028 as AI workloads create demand that existing infrastructure cannot absorb.

Investment figures confirm the scale of the build-out. Operators, developers, and hyperscalers collectively invested in excess of $600 billion in data center infrastructure during 2026, with the United States, France, Malaysia, Thailand, and Australia accounting for some of the largest individual commitments. SoftBank alone announced plans to invest 75 billion euros across France. TikTok's parent company secured approval in Thailand for a $29 billion AI and cloud infrastructure program. CDC Data Centres in Australia signed a 555 MW deal, the largest data center contract in the country's history.

In the United States, Cushman & Wakefield's 2026 Global Data Center Market Comparison identified Northern Virginia and Texas as the top two primary markets by total commissioned capacity before Texas overtook Virginia in May 2026. Atlanta ranked second overall in the U.S. market by total commissioned capacity, with a multigigawatt active pipeline spanning Fulton, Douglas, DeKalb, Cobb, Gwinnett, and adjacent counties.

Key structural constraints are now shaping which markets can execute. Power availability, not land or capital, has become the binding constraint in Northern Virginia, Dallas, and Silicon Valley. Texas's Competitive Renewable Energy Zones have emerged as a critical enabler of scalable AI infrastructure. North Carolina advanced legislation to protect utility ratepayers if projected AI demand underperforms. Virginia regulators revised backup generator permitting standards as community opposition to emissions grows. The pattern across all major markets is the same: capital is available, demand is present, and the speed of execution depends on grid capacity and regulatory agility.

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