Data Center Investment News — 28/08/2026
August 27, 2026
Written by Angela Cáceres, Ensar Aljimi, Siddhi Pandit
Zerra DC reportedly plans 1.44GW data centre campus in Queensland
Singapore-based Zerra DC has reportedly proposed a A$31.9 billion (US$20.7 billion) data centre campus in Queensland’s Western Downs region, according to a report by ABC News. The proposed Western Downs Digital Park would occupy a 725.5-hectare site north-west of Brisbane and represents one of the largest data centre investments floated for the Australian market to date.
Actis-backed Terranova breaks ground on Campinas data centre campus
Actis-backed data centre developer Terranova has begun construction of an AI-focused data centre campus in Campinas, São Paulo, marking the start of a project designed to serve Latin America’s growing hyperscale demand. The initial phase includes a substation with 216MW of computing capacity, expected to come online by December 2027, with the potential to scale toward 1GW as demand grows.
The investment in the first phase exceeds US$500 million, with additional funding committed through 2029 as the campus expands. Actis launched Terranova last year with plans to invest $1.5 billion across a portfolio of campuses in Brazil, Mexico and Chile, and the Campinas groundbreaking marks the platform’s first major construction milestone in the region.
NVIDIA invests in data centre infrastructure company Cloverleaf
NVIDIA has taken a minority stake in Cloverleaf Infrastructure as part of a new partnership to develop power and site infrastructure for AI data centre projects across the US, the companies announced. The deal deepens NVIDIA’s push into the physical infrastructure layer underpinning AI compute, working alongside Cloverleaf co-founder and CEO David Berry to secure powered sites for large-scale deployments.
Prometheus Hyperscale reveals plans for behind-the-metre Texas data centre
US data centre developer Prometheus Hyperscale is partnering with midstream energy infrastructure developer Istmo Energy to build a behind-the-meter data centre campus in Reeves County, Texas. The Pecos campus is designed to deliver 1.5GW of compute capacity in its first phase, with the companies targeting first power in 2027 as they bypass grid bottlenecks common to West Texas developments.
Thailand’s Stecon targets $1.5 billion data centre projects
Thai construction group Stecon plans to bid for three data centre projects worth a combined 49.8 billion baht (US$1.5 billion), as digital infrastructure work takes an increasingly large share of its project backlog and revenue. The move reflects the broader wave of data centre construction spending sweeping Southeast Asia’s contractor market as regional operators race to meet AI-driven demand.
OpenAI’s head of data centers, Chris Malone, latest to depart
Chris Malone has left OpenAI after a year and a half serving as its head of data centers, joining a string of executives who have exited the company’s infrastructure team in recent months. Malone previously spent nearly five years at Meta as a distinguished engineer and close to 12 years at Google working on data centre infrastructure and IT hardware R&D before joining OpenAI.
His departure follows earlier exits by head of infrastructure Keith Heyde and Stargate lead Peter Hoeschele, prompting OpenAI to reorganize its compute and infrastructure teams into three separate groups this past March. The company has since brought in Intel’s Sachin Katti to oversee Stargate, alongside several other new infrastructure leaders, as OpenAI prepares for a planned IPO next year and pushes projected compute spending toward roughly $750 billion through 2030.
Z Squared agrees to acquire full ownership of Paradox Data
Cryptomining firm Z Squared has signed a definitive agreement to acquire full ownership of Paradox Data and take control of its Union County campus near El Dorado, Arkansas, expanding on a deal first announced in June for a 51 percent stake. Under the revised terms, Z Squared will issue $5 million in Series A convertible preferred stock at closing, with up to $20 million more payable if the campus hits a series of development milestones tied to power capacity and customer commitments.
The transaction requires no cash at closing and is not debt-financed, with roughly 80 percent of the total consideration contingent on Paradox reaching development targets of up to 150MW. The site currently holds an interruptible service agreement for up to 8MW, and Z Squared plans to combine utility power with on-site generation to support its planned 170-acre, immersion-cooled AI and HPC campus, even as Union County and the city of El Dorado both have data centre moratoriums in effect into 2026 and 2027.
Terronova starts work on 300MW data center campus outside São Paulo, Brazil
Latin American data centre firm Terranova has started construction on the first phase of Campus Campinas outside São Paulo, Brazil, with a substation designed to deliver 300MW of initial capacity when it comes online in December 2027. The site has the potential to scale up to 1GW, and will use liquid cooling with a closed-loop water system to limit water consumption.
The first phase alone represents an investment of more than $500 million, with additional funding to follow through 2029 as the roughly 944,000 sqm campus is built out, most of which will remain green space or be handed to the municipality. Terranova was launched by investment firm Actis last year with plans to commit $1.5 billion across a portfolio of Latin American campuses in Brazil, Mexico and Chile.
