Connect | Virginia // Major Panel: New era, new terms - Rethinking data center investment for AI

GPUs refresh every 12 to 18 months, yet the debt and leases financing them run 5 to 20 years. This mismatch is reshaping how deals get done, from hyperscaler guarantees traded for equity stakes to lenders pricing terms earlier in the project lifecycle. It is also pushing investors toward repurposed facilities with existing power and fiber, where faster speed to revenue can offset the lower returns and timeline risk of greenfield builds. This discussion looks at how investors are structuring for risk in an asset class where the core technology outpaces the capital behind it.

• How are lenders underwriting chip depreciation, and what does that mean for NeoClouds without hyperscaler tenants?
• Benefits and risks of pre-pricing debt before a project is fully de-risked
• Are corporate credit guarantees in exchange for equity becoming the template for mega-deals?
• Whether retrofits of legacy enterprise and telco facilities can deliver better risk-adjusted returns than new hyperscale campuses