Connect | New York // Major Panel: Financing the next wave of data center growth

Go to the 2027 site
  • —
  • Main Stage
  • Investment & Markets
  • Open Session

Speakers

Sharif Metwalli

Chief Financial Officer, Vantage Data Centers

Shafayet Patwari

Shafayet Patwari

Vice President, Data Center, Hut 8

Pankaj Sehgal

Pankaj Sehgal

Global PE Head for AI Infra, Energy Transition & Decarbonization, AWS

Hunter Newby

Chairman & CEO, Newby Ventures

James Raddings

Digital Portfolio Lead, DCD

Record levels of capital are flowing into the North American digital infrastructure market, driven by AI-scale demand and the race to secure capacity. Infrastructure funds, private equity, and sovereign wealth investors are reshaping how projects are financed through long-term power agreements, platform investments, and strategic partnerships. Yet, behind the momentum lies a more complex picture of risk: constrained grids, shifting regulation, rising costs, and the growing threat of stranded capacity. This panel brings together investors, developers, and financiers to examine how capital is being deployed, structured, and safeguarded in 2026’s fast-changing market.

In particular they address:

  • The financing models driving AI-ready data center expansion
  • How regulation, tariffs, and ESG targets are influencing investment decisions
  • Where overbuild and stranded capacity risks are emerging
  • How investors are adapting to power, permitting, and delivery challenges

What is the runway for future data center investments?