Mapped: The Global AI Data Center Boom — 107 Megaprojects Racing for Power

The terawatt arms race

Hyperscalers and neoclouds are building AI infrastructure faster than the grid can keep up. OpenAI's Stargate program alone spans multiple gigawatt-scale campuses across Texas, Michigan, and the UAE. Meta is planning 5 GW at Hyperion in Louisiana. xAI's Colossus campuses in Memphis and Mississippi are already live while Colossus 3 ramps in 2026.

The interactive tracker above maps 107 publicly announced AI-focused sites across seven regions — from 38 MW in Lagos to 15 GW in China's national AI grid program. Filter by region and status, sort by IT load or estimated cost, and explore regional share in the charts.

North America dominates planned load

The US and Canada account for the bulk of tracked megawatt capacity: Stargate, Fairwater, Project Rainier, Meta Prometheus/Hyperion, CoreWeave, Crusoe, and dozens of greenfield gigasites in Wyoming, Utah, and Indiana. BloombergNEF counted ~16 GW under construction in the US alone as of late 2025 — this tracker captures the named projects driving that figure.

Power is the product

Annual energy in the table assumes 90% capacity factor on disclosed IT load (MW × 8,760 hours × 0.9). A single 1 GW campus can draw nearly 8 TWh per year — comparable to a small country's electricity consumption. That is why developers are signing nuclear PPAs, building behind-the-meter gas, and siting in Malaysia, India, and Poland where grid queues are shorter.

Cost estimates are messy

Disclosed capex ranges from $720M (Ascenty São Paulo) to $400B (Stargate program-level). Many rows show "Part of …" or "Undisclosed" because hyperscalers bundle shell, power, and GPU fit-out differently. The cost rollup chart sums only rows with parseable dollar figures — umbrella programs are excluded to avoid double counting.

What to watch

• 2026 completions: Stargate Abilene, Fairwater Wisconsin, AWS Rainier phases, and dozens of neocloud halls targeting H2 2026
• Grid bottlenecks: Tokyo and Seoul queues stretch 7–10 yearspushing builds to Southeast Asia and the Middle East
• China's parallel build: NDRC's $295B national AI infrastructure program targets 15 GW across Guizhou, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia hubs

Methodology

Site list compiled from public announcements, SEC filings, press releases, and industry trackers (BNEF, McKinsey/JLL) as of June 2026. IT load figures reflect developer-disclosed peak capacity, not always energization dates. Status: Operational, Partially Live, Under Construction, or Planned. This is not exhaustive of every colocation or enterprise facility globally.