NEW YORK, July 7 — The figure that matters: $35 billion in data center construction spending in 2023, up from $20 billion in 2020. By the numbers, the U.S. now hosts over 5,000 data centers as of 2024, according to the International Data Corporation. The boom is driven by one thing: AI workloads, which require massive computing power.
Investors will note the scale of commitments from the major players. Amazon Web Services announced $35 billion in data center investments in Virginia by 2024.
Microsoft plans to spend $50 billion globally on data centers by 2025. Google is also building. The construction sites are large, often spanning 100 acres, with miles of copper wiring.
The bottom line: this is a construction boom unlike any the sector has seen. But it comes with a growing problem.
The Uptime Institute reports that data center construction timelines have extended by 20% due to theft and supply chain issues. The FBI and local police have increased patrols in response.
The Scale of the Buildout
Data centers are not small facilities. The sites span often 100 acres. They require miles of copper wiring for power and connectivity.
AWS’s Virginia investment alone hit $35 billion by 2024. Microsoft’s global commitment stands at $50 billion by 2025.
The spending trajectory is sharp. Construction spending hit $35 billion in 2023, up from $20 billion in 2020. The IDC counts over 5,000 data centers in the U.S. as of 2024.
AI workloads are the primary driver, demanding enormous computing capacity that traditional data centers were not built to handle.
The Theft Problem
The construction boom has attracted a different kind of attention. Theft is a growing problem at these massive sites. The copper wiring that runs for miles is a target.
The Uptime Institute reports that construction timelines have extended by 20% due to theft and supply chain issues combined. The FBI and local police have increased patrols.
The figure that matters for investors: a 20% delay in construction timelines means projects take longer to come online, which means revenue is delayed. For a sector racing to meet AI demand, that is a meaningful bottleneck.
What to Watch
The bottom line: the U.S. data center buildout is accelerating, but theft and supply chain issues are creating friction. The $35 billion in 2023 spending and the $50 billion Microsoft commitment signal that the major players are betting big on continued AI growth. Investors will watch whether the theft problem eases as patrols increase, or whether it continues to stretch timelines.
