Aussies data centres keen to cash in on Trump’s $US500bn AI ‘Stargate' commitment

Australian data centres operators are preparing to capitalise on Donald Trump’s $US500bn Project Stargate commitment to beat China by building AI infrastructure in the US.

AirTrunk founder Robin Khuda is enthusiastic about the prospect of cashing in on the Trump administration’s commitment to AI. Picture: Britta Campion

Australian data centres operators want to capitalise on President Donald Trump’s $US500bn ($800bn) commitment to outcompete China and build artificial intelligence infrastructure in the US.

The Stargate project, involving Open AI, Oracle and other major US tech players, has also got the local industry excited.

“As the demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure builds in the US, now is the time for Australia to take a front-row seat to the growing world of AI, and the productive, holistic role we can take on that journey,” IT and data centre services company Interactive’s chief executive, Alex Coates, said.

AirTrunk founder Robin Khuda also shared his enthusiasm, and expectations that the investment would trigger more demand which would flow through to Australia.

“The Stargate announcement reinforces AI as a driver of economic growth and productivity globally, as well as the importance of investing in essential digital infrastructure,” he said.

“AI technology will sit within data centres, meaning we will see accelerated investment from across the tech industry triggering strong demand for data centres, both in the USA and here in (Asia-Pacific and Japan) region.”

Data centres have attracted billions of dollars in investment over the past couple of years as real estate, energy and tech funds hedge their bets on an AI-fuelled future.

But data centre growth has been stifled by a number of factors including access to land and energy, with the power hungry facilities putting more demand on energy networks amid the AI boom.

Mr Trump said he would consider allowing data centre operators to produce their own electricity, and his administration would “make it possible for them to get that done very easily at their own plants”.

He also noted that the new $US500bn commitment was partly inspired by an AI arms race with China, and that he wanted to see the development of AI and data centres take place in the US.

Ms Coates said Australia should look to learn from developments in the US but focus its efforts on building its own AI economy.

“The rapid adoption of generative artificial intelligence technology has led to skyrocketing demand for AI-ready data centres both on Australian shores and around the world, as exemplified by the Stargate venture,” she said.

“As developments in AI and cloud services continue to proliferate, industry leaders are expected to satisfy current demand for adoption while delivering on energy efficiency and cost effectiveness.”

Ms Coates said there would be multiple opportunities to revolutionise the current state of data centres and their hardware.

“We can expect to see energy-efficient hardware and infrastructure coming to the forefront,” she said.

“They are designed to operate efficiently with less heat generation, require less cooling, directly reducing energy demands.

“Providing additional data centre power is not just about meeting customer needs, but also ensuring that this power is delivered in a sustainable, cost-effective manner.”

Ms Coates said there were also opportunities in the “driving force” behind data centre demand.

“While AI is often cited as the driving force behind massive demand in data centre power, it’s important to think about the use cases driving this demand, such as healthcare’s transition to digital care or the growing requirement for online learning in universities,” she said.

Australian-listed companies with the most AI exposure and likely to benefit from Mr Trump’s Stargate plan include local data centre operator NextDC, which closed at $16.09 on Wednesday, up 2.2 per cent and which has rallied more than 18 per cent over the past 12 months.

Network services business Megaport, which has access to 860 data centres globally, closed 2.5 per cent higher at $8.19.

Tracking company Life360, which closed up 3.4 per cent at $24.61, Richard White’s WiseTech Global, up 2.93 per cent to $122.46, and cloud accounting giant Xero, up 2.4 per cent to $170.05, have all turned to AI to help boost revenues and product offerings.

Meanwhile, property giant Goodman Group, which has switched its focus to data centres with a $100bn plan to convert its industrial sheds into tech facilities, closed up 2.06 per cent at $38.63.

Information technology services provider Data#3 closed up 1.4 per cent at $6.73.

Government and university software provider Technology-One added 1.98 per cent to $29.80

Originally published as Aussies data centres keen to cash in on Trump’s $US500bn AI ‘Stargate' commitment