Hyperscale Data Center Capacity to Triple by 2030, Driven by Generative AI

RENO, NV, January 9, 2025

New data and forecasts from Synergy Research Group show that the average capacity of hyperscale data centers to be opened over the next four years will be almost double that of current operational hyperscale data centers. The trend has always been for the critical IT load of hyperscale data centers to grow in size over time, but generative AI technology and services are power hungry and have supercharged that trend. Meanwhile, as the average IT load of individual data centers ramps up, the number of operational hyperscale data centers will continue to steadily grow. There will also be some degree of retrofitting existing data centers to boost their capacity. The overall result is that the total capacity of all operational hyperscale data centers will grow almost threefold by 2030. The hyperscale research is based on an analysis of the data center footprint and operations of 19 of the world’s major cloud and internet service firms, who meet Synergy's criteria for being considered hyperscale operators. This includes the largest operators in SaaS, IaaS, PaaS, search, social networking, e-commerce and gaming. By late-2024, those companies had 1,103 major data centers in operation around the world. Synergy's known pipeline of future data centers includes a further 497 facilities, which is one of the main inputs to Synergy's forecast model. 

“The number of operational hyperscale data centers continues to grow inexorably, having doubled over the past five years,” said John Dinsdale, a Chief Analyst at Synergy Research Group. “That installed base will continue to grow, but the most marked change in the market is the ever-increasing capacity of data centers that are being brought online. The math is complicated as the mix of hyperscale data centers continues to change - old versus new, region by region, and owned versus leased - but in aggregate we will see GPU-oriented infrastructure leading to a doubling of the capacity of new hyperscale data centers.”