$61 billion spent on data center contracts in 2025, report says

The data center market is booming and there is no sign that it will slow down anytime soon, despite efforts to stop the proliferation of processing.

According to a new report from S&P Global, the global data center market soared to $61 billion in 2025, an increase of half a billion dollars from last year and another record for the industry. The money is trying to keep pace with the expansion of infrastructure projects needed to funnel more data-processing power to generative AI and its creators.

Despite concerns that interest in AI will wane and render projects moot, S&P experts told CNBC that they predict demand for AI applications will remain strong in 2026, and that skepticism from major AI players is unlikely to change market trends. Yet the numbers may not be as positive as they seem. S&P Global found that the majority of the increase in financing came from equity financing, a precarious debt model necessary to feed a massive, energy-intensive industry, CNBC reported.

According to an October report from S&P Global, data centers are expected to increase their use of the power grid by another 22% by the end of 2025, and predict that figure will triple by 2030. Other experts have spotted similar trends.

In response to these trends, communities across the country have opposed data center deals. Earlier this month, a coalition of 350 environmental nonprofits signed a letter outlining key concerns about the environmental impact of large data centers, urging all 50 states to halt the expansion of data center projects. Over the past year, data center settlements have faced legal and social backlash from community groups and local advocacy organizations, including cases in Virginia and Wisconsin. Advocates have even created litigation toolkits to support the fight against AI data center expansion.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has pledged to accelerate the authorization of federal data centers and circumvent established environmental laws in order to achieve the goals outlined in its new AI Action Plan.