Welcome back to the Data Center Download – In this series, our SVP Chris Pickles explores the latest funding, collaborations, product updates and funding news from cutting-edge data centre companies across the US, Europe and APAC, and the most sought-after skills within the industry from the data center giants.

 

 

Spotlight on: DataCenter Magazine

Data Center Magazine recently spotlighted the leading figures working in the data centre industry across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) committed to innovation. The top 10 featured leaders included:

  1. Wabo Majavu – Executive Strategy & Business Operations, Africa Data Centres (South Africa). 15+ years in telecom, joined ADC in Jan 2023 to lead strategy & operations.
  2. Tarek Al Ashram – CEO & Founder, Gulf Data Hub (UAE). Since 2011, driving carrier- and vendor-neutral facilities, with US$29 billion investment.
  3. Ayotunde (Tunde) Coker – CEO, Open Access Data Centres (Nigeria). Industry veteran, former Rack Centre leader; also chairs Africa Data Centres Association.
  4. Hassan Alnaqbi – CEO, Khazna Data Centers (UAE). Spearheading the AE’s hyperscale AI‑ready infrastructure to boost the AI‑driven economy.
  5. Jonas Bogoshi – CEO, BCX (South Africa). Leading a 7,000‑employee ICT firm, championing agility via partnerships across SMEs and enterprises.
  6. Jan Hnizdo – CEO, Teraco Data Environments (South Africa). Joined as CFO in 2011, CEO since 2019; grew Teraco into an Africa-wide data centre leader.
  7. Snehar Shah CFA (Hiring) – CEO, IXAfrica (Kenya). Appointed Sept 2023; renowned telco strategist expanding hyperscale-ready centres in East Africa.
  8. Mouna Essa-Egh – VP MEA, Secure Power & Datacenter Business, Schneider Electric (UAE). Focused on sustainable, efficient data centre infrastructure in MEA.

Read the full article here.

 

 

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Latest market updates:

CIMware raised $2.3 M from Transition VC.

Allia raised $2,000,000 in Seed funding from Arben Ventures and other investors.

639 Solar Data Centers + Cloud raised $300,000 in Seed funding.

Artificial intelligence semiconductor startup Groq announced it has established its first data center in Europe as it steps up its international expansion.

Google’s data center energy use is reported to have doubled in 4 years.

Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) and Karadeniz Holding have extended their longstanding LNG-to-power partnership into a new arena, agreeing to develop what they describe as the world’s first integrated floating data center platform.

Quality Technology Services, LLC (QTS) has been looking for local businesses to help build its $10bn data center in Northumberland, England. The facility will be located in the village of Cambois.

Elon Musk has confirmed buying a power plant overseas and shipping it to the US to power its new data center housing one million AI GPUs and up to 2 Gigawatts of power under one roof.

By the first quarter of 2025, hyperscalers operated 1,189 data centers, representing 44% of global data center capacity, according to Synergy Research Group. This share is expected to rise to 61% by 2030, reflecting ongoing shifts in the data center.

OpenAI signs $30bn data centre deal with Oracle.

South African telco MTN launches first phase of data center in Nigeria. The facility will offer 4.5MW of capacity.

Ofgem approves £24bn in transmission upgrades in boost to UK’s AI ambitions. Will support the country’s Clean Power 2030 agenda.

Computing giant Alibaba Cloud has announced the launch of its third data centre in Malaysia. It also plans to open its second data centre in the Philippines in October 2025.

The director of data center engineering at Apple has joined generative AI giant OpenAI.

Australian Goodman Group is set to establish a US$2.7bn investment group to invest in Hong Kong data centres, as Asia experiences an AI infrastructure boom.

Australia’s Department of Defence has signed a five-year AU$495 million (US$324.71m) deal with Microsoft to use its cloud computing services.

Meta is reportedly turning to private capital firms to raise $29 billion and finance its US data center build.

 

 

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