During the past two years, commercial real estate has become captivated by artificial intelligence (AI).
Capital has poured into the infrastructure needed to support AI. Conference agendas are dominated by discussions of power, hyperscalers and compute capacity. Nearly every conversation about the future of real estate eventually finds its way back to AI.
The enthusiasm is well deserved. AI infrastructure is creating one of the most compelling investment opportunities we have seen in decades.
But the facilities powering the AI buildout are only part of the story.
Across the United States, investment in the industrial data center ecosystem is creating a new class of industrial occupiers — companies building the components, infrastructure and supply chains needed to support this buildout. At Hines, we have come to call them “New Companies Doing New Things.” This is especially applicable to advanced manufacturing.
Three years ago, many of these
