Welcome back to the Data Center Download – In this series, I explore 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.

 

 

LinkedIn Talent Insights

It’s been a while since we looked at the talent pool report across the market. Here are the latest updates:

Top skills:

  • Data analysis / Analytical skills – Signals a strong analytical foundation among data center professionals, possibly due to increasing demand for performance monitoring, efficiency optimisation, or data-driven infrastructure planning.
  • Data center management – Directly aligns with core infrastructure and operations roles; it’s reassuring to see this high on the list, suggesting that skilled operational professionals are available.
  • Data entry – This could indicate a mix of junior-level or administrative talent in the data center space, or overlap with data processing roles, not just infrastructure.

There’s a solid mix of strategic and tactical capabilities.

Top employers:

  • Microsoft (2% growth) – They’re expanding, likely in line with Azure’s global cloud infrastructure growth.
  • Amazon (flat) – AWS is huge, so they likely already have massive talent density.
  • IBM (3% decline) and Accenture (2% decline) – May signal a shifting focus or internal restructuring.

If you’re looking to hire, IBM and Accenture employees might be more open to new opportunities. Conversely, Microsoft is actively growing, so they could be competitors for the same talent you’re seeking.

Top locations:

  • New York, Washington DC, San Francisco, LA, Greater Boston

These cities are major tech and infrastructure hubs. Interestingly, DC and Boston may represent government, defence, or research-heavy data center demand, while SF, LA, and NY are tied more to enterprise, cloud, and content delivery.

These are talent-rich areas, but also highly competitive and expensive. If you’re building a strategy, consider remote talent, near-shoring, or second-tier cities (like Austin, Denver, or Raleigh in the U.S., or Warsaw, Dublin, and Amsterdam in Europe).

 

data centre ai

 

Spotlight on: OVHcloud

OVHcloud is a leading European data center provider operating 43 facilities across four continents. Amid rising global trade tensions, European companies are increasingly reconsidering their cloud service providers, with strategic autonomy becoming a significant consideration. OVHcloud is capitalising on this trend, offering alternatives to US-based hyperscalers like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure , and Google Cloud.

In 2024, LightOn achieved a significant milestone by becoming Europe’s first listed generative AI startup through an IPO on Euronext Growth Paris.

The team’s unique approach to AI acceleration through optical computing positions them as a significant player in the data center space. Their technological innovations offer potential solutions to the growing energy demands of AI workloads, making them a company to watch.

 

Latest funding news:

Egyptian semiconductor startup InfiniLink raised $10M in a Seed funding round.

eCloudTech raised an undisclosed amount of Series C funding.

According to banks Wells Fargo and TD Cowen, Amazon has paused negotiations on some co-location data center deals, primarily in Europe.

Gautam Adani plans to invest an additional $10 billion to build data centers in India, as he looks to ride the boom in demand for artificial intelligence and business process-led services.

Aligned Data Centers has officially broken ground on its PHX-13 facility, the first of four planned data centres on its 100-acre Glendale campus. The facility is designed to meet the growing demand for hyperscale and enterprise data solutions.

NTT DATA is planning to develop a new data center campus in Hyderabad, India.

Corscale Data Centers and Affinius Capital have announced a strategic partnership with e2Companies to exclusively utilise its virtual utility technology in the US Hyperscale data center market.

Singapore-headquartered asset manager Keppel Ltd. has raised more than $1.5bn across a pair of new funds focused on data centres.

Crypto and AI data center firm Soluna Holdings is planning another wind farm-colocated data center in Texas. The company announced last week that it has signed a term sheet for power for Project Ellen, a new 100mw data center colocated with a 145mw wind farm in South Texas.

Townsend Group has invested strategically in CleanArc Data Centers, a developer and operator of renewables-focused hyperscale data center campuses.

The Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company PJSC (du) signed a 2 billion dirham hyperscale data center deal with Microsoft.

Data centre operators have committed to investing at least $630 million in expanding capacity as internet consumption soars amid rising demand for local cloud.

Adani Group plans to invest an additional $10 billion to build data centres across the country, aiming to capitalise on rising demand driven by AI applications and business process outsourcing.

 

 

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