Data Center Construction in the Age of AI

Research Paper
March 26, 2026
Preview

The growth of artificial intelligence is contributing to changes in the U.S. data center market. As models have scaled in size and complexity, demand for computing infrastructure has increased, alongside a rise in development activity.

Construction pipelines have expanded in recent years, while pricing per megawatt has reflected growing demand for higher-capacity, power-intensive facilities. These trends have been observed in MSCI Real Capital Analytics Data Centers data.

Using MSCI Real Capital Analytics Data Centers data, we explore how this expansion is influencing development pipelines, pricing dynamics and transaction activity across the sector, and highlight selected transactions and projects associated with recent capacity growth.

Read the full analysis to see how the data center market is evolving.

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