This working draft of AI Now’s upcoming report traces corporate power in the data center industry in the United States, focusing on the flows of money and power that determine who both drives and benefits from the current data center boom. The aim of this research is to help local communities and their advocates fight rampant data center development at the local and state level by identifying the industry players profiting from and steering these projects, and by demystifying those players’ tactics. Although some research exists on the role of Big Tech companies and state-level incentives in facilitating the rapid expansion of data centers, less is known about the other industry players that finance, construct, and operate data centers, and the energy infrastructure required to power them.
Building on the expertise of local communities and advocates, along with ongoing consultation with community groups across the US as part of the Data Center Working Group, the findings of this report affirm how the data center boom is cementing power and profit for industry players that are already powerful: from the world’s largest private equity firms, to Big Tech corporations, to the growing market of developers that prepare land and energy infrastructure for data center construction, to electric utilities and fossil companies, to the data center trade associations lobbying for this industry behind the scenes. Our findings show that the industry is not about new frontiers, or about progress and innovation—but about an entrenchment of power in an already consolidated computational market.
We are grateful for the collaboration of Free Press, LittleSis, Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund, and the dozens of community members, organizers, and advocates who contributed their lived experience and expertise to this project.
Report and Community Resources:
These materials are currently working drafts, soft launched as part of AI Now’s June 10, 2026 webinar, “Mapping the Data Center Industry.” We will launch the full report and final versions of the community guides later in 2026, with additional feedback from community groups, organizers, and technical experts.
- Report Executive Summary: Corporate Power Players in the Data Center Industry: The report is structured according to broad categories of industry players and the strategies and tactics they use to influence the data center buildout. We provide examples to help direct readers toward existing fights and to point toward the diverse ways corporate power manifests across the industry.
- US Data Centers Developers & Private Equity Database: This database summarizes the main data center developers and private equity players driving the data center buildout in the US. It was created by the AI Now Institute, Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund, and Free Press, and is updated quarterly.
- Are we missing a key data center developer or owner/operator, or critical info about a company already in the database? Fill out our submission form.
- Community Guides to Data Center Industry Players: These guides profile each type of data center industry player—trade groups, data center developers, Big Tech, private equity, energy sector, and electric utilities—and their tactics, summarizing key information from the full report. They are designed to support community members, organizers, advocates, and policymakers to quickly understand the actors driving the data center buildout.
Please reach out to the AI Now Institute at datacenters@ainowinstitute.org with questions.