By Tamas Mark, Global Head of Real Assets
Artificial intelligence is frequently described as a software revolution, but the scale and composition of the capital now being committed to it make its next phase an infrastructure story as much as it is a technology one.
Indeed, as AI-driven demand for computing power rockets, attention is turning to the physical systems that support it – from data centres and electricity networks to energy generation, cooling and grid capacity. Investors, policymakers and industry participants face a fundamental question: can the required growth in digital infrastructure be delivered alongside the sustainable energy transition?
Addressing this question, our new whitepaper, developed in partnership with the Sustainable Real Estate Forum (SREF), brings together perspectives from IQ-EQ and a range of industry contributors to examine the investment, infrastructure and governance considerations critical to the next phase of AI growth.
The report explores how demand for AI is translating into demand for physical infrastructure, and what that means for investors, fund managers, developers and policymakers. It explores the role of energy availability, operational resilience, fund governance, risk management and project delivery in supporting long-term digital infrastructure growth.
Inside the report, we hear from IQ-EQ, SREF, Zurich Insurance, Norton Rose Fulbright, RICS and Start Campus, alongside a foreword from Christian Baudis, digital entrepreneur, futurist and former Google executive.
Our contributors investigate:
- The significance of fund governance in AI infrastructure investment, with energy geography becoming a key governance issue (IQ-EQ)
- Why resilience, insurability and risk engineering are becoming increasingly important considerations for data-centre investors (Zurich Insurance)
- How contracts, power rights and risk allocation can help make AI infrastructure bankable (Norton Rose Fulbright)
- The role of carbon measurement, skills, delivery capability and resilient infrastructure in supporting sustainable data-centre growth (RICS and Start Campus)
- How capital, infrastructure delivery and energy transition objectives can be better coordinated across the digital infrastructure ecosystem (Sustainable Real Estate Forum)
Together, we seek to conclude whether – and how – soaring demand for computing can be translated into data-centre infrastructure that is sustainably powered, resilient, insurable, financeable and effectively governed.
Download the report below to explore the findings and recommendations in full.
We hope you find the report useful and welcome any questions you may have. To learn more about IQ-EQ’s support for real assets, infrastructure and digital infrastructure investments, click here.
