AI Data Centre Investments Offer Promise, but Risks Loom
US investment firms on Wall Street are increasingly promoting data centres as an investment vehicle for capturing growth opportunities in artificial intelligence (AI).
But behind the promising business outlook, investors face a range of risks, from community opposition and limited electricity supply to liquidity problems.
According to CNBC on Saturday (10 October 2026), alternative investment firms such as Blackstone, Blue Owl and Brookfield Asset Management are starting to broaden investor access to the physical infrastructure underpinning AI’s development, through both public and private investment vehicles.
Such investments have traditionally been dominated by institutional investors, including pension fund managers. But these opportunities are now being introduced to retail investors through investment products that can be traded on the stock market.
Even so, the expansion of data centres in the US is increasingly facing political and social challenges.
Community opposition to the construction of these facilities is growing, while regulatory changes could hinder projects that underpin investment return calculations.
Blackstone is among the firms pioneering wider public investment access to data centres through Blackstone Digital Infrastructure Trust (BXDC).
The real-estate investment trust (REIT) was listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in May 2026.
A REIT pools funds to own or finance real-estate assets. It allows investors to gain exposure to the property sector without having to buy and manage assets directly.
Pell described the approach as a relatively low-risk way to invest in the data-centre sector. Blackstone plans to select data-centre assets it considers suitable for offering to investors from a market estimated to be worth US$300 billion.
In its initial public offering (IPO) in mid-May 2026, the company sold 87.5 million shares at US$20 apiece.
However, BXDC shares have weakened since their market debut. At the close of trading on Thursday (8 October 2026), they were below US$17, down about 16 per cent from the IPO price.
The two regions have been important locations for the data-centre industry even before the surge in computing demand driven by AI’s development.
This approach is expected to reduce the uncertainty facing new projects across the US, particularly those still dependent on government approval and support from local communities.
By comparison, data-centre developers Equinix and Digital Realty Trust, which are also REITs, have performed well over the long term. However, their share-price movements have tended to be subdued since BXDC was launched.
Overall, the REIT sector has performed better in 2026 than it typically does when interest rates and bond yields rise.
Such conditions usually put pressure on property because borrowing costs increase and fixed-income assets become more attractive to investors.
In the company’s latest results presentation, Pell said the data-centre market opportunity was substantial. He estimated that the total addressable market for its business would exceed US$1 trillion in the coming years.
Strong demand for AI infrastructure is also supporting US construction spending. Data-centre construction has become one of the mainstays of national construction spending as outlays on building in several other sectors have declined.
Blackstone is not the only alternative investment firm expanding its data-centre business.
Blue Owl, which already manages a digital infrastructure fund for sophisticated investors, is reportedly considering establishing a public REIT worth up to US$6.5 billion.
According to a Bloomberg report in September 2026, the planned investment vehicle would bring together several data-centre investments already owned by the company.