Investment Forum | New York 2027
Connecting the senior dealmakers shaping the next phase of digital infrastructure growth
As demand for AI-ready infrastructure accelerates, capital, power, and strategy are becoming more tightly linked than ever. The DCD Investment Forum | New York brings together the investors, operators, and advisors driving this evolution, creating a private environment to exchange insight, test perspectives, and move faster on the decisions that matter.
Designed for the pace and complexity of today’s investment landscape, the 2027 edition will deliver an even more more focused, high-value forum, bringing together senior decision-makers to navigate capital deployment, risk, and opportunity in the AI-driven economy.
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Dynamic programme: A more interactive, discussion-led format designed to give you direct access to market perspectives, helping you understand where capital is moving and how strategies are shifting.
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Senior-led insight: Hear directly from C-suite operators, leading investors, and advisors, so you can benchmark decisions, validate assumptions, and stay ahead of market dynamics.
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Private networking: A closed-door setting, separate from the main programme, allowing you to build high-value relationships and have the conversations that lead to real deals.
Relive the best moments from our 2026 event:
Previous agenda highlights
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Opening Keynote Panel: Billion dollar bets - guiding the course for sustainable AI expansion
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- Investment Forum Main Stage
- Investment & Markets
- Open Session
Speakers
Chief Data Center Officer, Crusoe
Managing Director, DigitalBridge
Head of AI Infrastructure, MGX
CEO, InfraXmedia
Managing Director, Barclays Investment Bank
In a market defined by surging hyperscale demand, tighter credit conditions, and sustainability imperatives, investors and operators alike are rethinking how capital is structured, from refinancing strategies to the rise of joint ventures, reshaping the playbook for digital infrastructure expansion. This panel will kick off the event and provide the macro overview for the day ahead at the investment forum.
- What are the current trends in capital stack financing, debt structures, and successful deal flows for large-scale developments and alternative energy sources?
- How have higher interest rates and refinancing conditions tightening shifted the capital strategy for stabilized data center portfolios?
- With traditional M&A cooling, we’re seeing more JVs and partial exits. How are joint venture structures evolving, especially between developers, operators, and long-term capital?
- How are operators balancing growth ambitions with balance sheet discipline in today’s environment?
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Panel: How are investment strategies adapting to the acceleration of artificial intelligence?
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- Investment Forum Main Stage
- Investment & Markets
- Open Session
Speakers
Chief Investment Officer, Digital Realty
Chief Financial Officer, Vantage Data Centers
Private Equity Infrastructure Leader, Deloitte
Deputy Head, Global Structured Finance, Americas and Head, Infrastructure Finance, NA, SMBC
Andrew Thomas
Senior Managing Director, Stonepeak
The advent of AI is dramatically reshaping the digital infrastructure landscape, forcing a re-evaluation of acquisition strategies and amplifying the influence of hyperscalers in investment and consolidation. This presents a critical juncture: how will organization adapt to the rapid shifts in valuation and market dynamics to avoid the risk of being outmanoeuvred by those who understand the true impact of AI on the industry?
This session will provide a deep dive into how AI infrastructure is reshaping acquisition strategies and the significant role of hyperscalers in driving industry investment and consolidation. We will analyze the resilience of digital infrastructure valuations amidst continued strong growth prospects, examine the biggest digital infrastructure M&A deals of 2025 and their impact on market dynamics, and identify the most anticipated deals and markets for 2026 and beyond.
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Keynote Presentation: Powering AI - The New Space Race
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- Investment Forum Main Stage
- Investment & Markets
- Open Session
Speakers
Senior Thematic Investing Research Analyst, Barclays
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Roundtable 1A: Financing - Future financing strategies for stabilised datacenter assets
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- Investment Forum Main Stage
- Investment & Markets
- Open Session
Speakers
Managing Director, Apterra Infrastructure Capital
SVP Capital Markets and Investor Relations, Compass Datacenters
Cecile Baker
Managing Director, TD Securities
David Strauss
Principal & Co-founder, BSP Technical Advisors
Amidst the rapid expansion of the data center industry, the capital stack for stabilized portfolios is evolving, with new financial instruments and funding sources gaining traction. This roundtable will explore the evolving capital landscape for data center portfolios, examining how securitization is being used and where mezzanine credit fits into the capital stack, while also debating the future role of public markets versus private capital in refinancing.
- Securitization is increasingly being used for stabilized data center portfolios. What makes an asset securitization-ready, and what are investors underwriting most critically?
- Mezzanine and structured credit have gained traction in this market. Where do you see mezzanine fitting best in stabilized asset capital stacks?
- Do you foresee public market capital such as REITs, IPOs playing a larger role in stabilized refinancing, or will private markets continue to dominate?
- What have we learnt from recent IPOs market moves?
2026 Speakers
Chief Investment Officer, Digital Realty
Managing Director, DigitalBridge
Chief Data Center Officer, Crusoe
Managing Director, TD Securities
Deputy Head, Global Structured Finance, Americas and Head, Infrastructure Finance, NA, SMBC
Chief Financial Officer, Vantage Data Centers
Partner, Head of Digital Infrastructure, Ares Management
Chief Investment Officer, Aligned Data Centers
Founding Partner, Snowhawk
Head of AI Infrastructure, MGX
Thank You to Our 2026 Partners
Key Themes 2026
DCD Investment Forum 2026 investigated the diverse capital sources and complex structures funding multi-billion-dollar data center and alternative energy projects, examining current trends in capital stack financing, debt structures, and successful deal flows. We addressed the necessity of joint ventures, critical approaches to asset valuation and risk mitigation against hardware obsolescence, and various exit strategies including M&A, IPOs, and and much more.
The event highlighted the expanding customer landscape in the data center industry, which now includes several 'neoclouds' and focused on how investors are underwriting the associated risks for these non-traditional clients while employing sophisticated development strategies to mitigate downside. Discussions tackled the future growth trajectory of the industry, scrutinizing whether current market projections are realistic and if the sector is facing an "AI bubble."
We explored how data center developers and investors are balancing the massive power demands of AI against energy bottlenecks, analyzing the financing of viable short-term energy solutions and conducting a deep dive into behind-the-meter power and microgrids, including SMRs, solar, natural gas and battery storage.
The event examined how the surge in AI-driven compute demand and resource constraints in major hubs are accelerating the pursuit of new data center market opportunities across the US and internationally.
Event Highlights:
