Hyperscale Data Centers to Reach 67% of Global Capacity by 2031
Cloud giants rapidly expanding infrastructure as AI demand accelerates.
WASHINGTON, April 10, 2026 – Hyperscale operators including Google, Microsoft and Amazon Web Services are projected to account for 67 percent of global data center capacity by 2031.
The projection, published in a report Tuesday by Synergy Research Group, reflects a shift as enterprise-owned infrastructure declines. Hyperscale firms currently control 48 percent of worldwide capacity, with nearly 60 percent in facilities they own and build.
Enterprise on-premises data centers accounted for 56 percent of global capacity in 2018, compared to 32 percent today, and are projected to fall to 19 percent by 2031. Non-hyperscale colocation providers make up 20 percent.
The expansion reflects rising demand for AI computing and increased investment in large-scale infrastructure.
Hyperscale operators could hold 14 times more data center capacity in 2031 than in 2018, the firm said. They operated about 1,360 large data centers globally at the end of 2025, nearly triple the number in 2018.
“Cloud and consumer-oriented digital services have been driving changes in data center deployment patterns for many years now, but over the last three years AI technology has accelerated those changes,” said chief analyst at Synergy Research Group John Dinsdale.
“We will increase our total AI capacity by over 80 percent this year and roughly double our total data center footprint over the next two years,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella during the company’s Q1 2026 earnings call in October, reflecting strong demand for AI computing.
Major cloud providers are planning more than $500 billion in infrastructure investments to support AI deployment.
The buildout is increasing pressure on power systems and raising concerns about electricity costs. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said data center electricity demand could drive price increases of up to 79 percent in parts of Texas by 2027.
Compute capacity is becoming constrained as demand for AI infrastructure grows, Microsoft executives and industry analysts say.
“We are seeing a different mix of data center usage across the regions, but overall the world is racing towards a situation where hyperscale operators are responsible for the bulk of global data center capacity,” Dinsdale said.
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