First look: Inside Infratil’s $10b AI data centre - Markets with Madison

Accessing a major data centre in New Zealand requires pre-approved security clearance and an executive escort around the heavily secured site, as Markets with Madison found out when filming Infratil’s $10 billion data centre business.

This is the first time anyone has been allowed to take cameras inside a major centre that stores sensitive online information and technology equipment for governments and businesses.

“If you want to do anything in the modern economy, it almost has to come through this facility,” Infratil chief executive Jason Boyes told Markets with Madison at the Auckland data centre.

“So that’s what’s driving our conviction.”

Infratil owns about half of the Australian business CDC data centres, which has two sites in Auckland.

The stake is now valued at close to $5b - more than 10 times the $400 million Infratil first invested in the business in 2016.

Infratil just raised $1.1b on the New Zealand Stock Exchange to help fund CDC’s expansion in Australia and New Zealand.

Infratil chief executive Jason Boyes takes Markets with Madison inside the multi-billion-dollar data centre business. Photo / NZME

“There’s a lot of growth in places, mostly like this, that we felt it was prudent at that time to get the funding sorted for now,” Boyes said.

“And every day we’ve had it done, we feel better that we’ve got it done, because the world is a volatile place and who knows what the balance of this year will bring.”

CDC’s centres were geared up for the artificial intelligence boom and the supercomputers that would power it, with a water-fuelled cooling system allowing for complete temperature controlled facilities.

“Right now, the biggest workloads are for the world’s biggest technology companies, and a lot of their focus at the moment is on deploying the artificial intelligence infrastructure globally where they need it, how they think it will be needed.

“It’s not tomorrow, really, we’re all using bits and pieces now, but these businesses have to think four, five, six, seven, eight, nine years ahead, right, and so they are provisioning now.”

Go inside a New Zealand data centre and Infratil’s major artificial intelligence play, in today’s episode of Markets with Madison above.

Get investment insights from executives and experts on Markets with Madison every Monday and Friday here on the NZ Herald, on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Disclaimer: The information provided in this programme is of a general nature, and is not intended to be personalised financial advice. We encourage you to seek appropriate advice from a qualified professional to suit your individual circumstances.

Madison Reidy is host and executive producer of the NZ Herald’s investment show Markets with Madison. She joined the Herald in 2022 after working in investment, and has covered business and economics for television and radio broadcasters.