Kao Data, a UK-based data centre operator and giant valued at $7 billion (£5.3 billion), has raised an additional $750 million to speed up its growth into the US and throughout Europe. This is a decision the company decided to take after investing hundreds of millions of dollars to start creating AI infrastructure throughout America.
Kao Data raised $750 million in equity and debt, led by majority owner Infratil and other investors. The funding fuels its first U.S. expansion into high-demand AI and HPC markets, focusing on large-scale campuses with liquid cooling and energy-efficient designs. Part of the funds will also support its £350 million AI-focused data centre in Stockport, UK.
From city sources, it is established that Fluidstack, which was established in London in 2017, raised its last round of funding last month, securing about $750 million.
After months of negotiations to raise the funds, the company has now reached a valuation of $7 billion. It could potentially raise more money than the $750 million amount, according to a person close to the business.
Gary Wu, Cesar Maklary, and British entrepreneur James Cox founded Fluidstack, which is a part of the ambitious construction project to create AI data centres around the United States.
In December, the start-up announced that it would be moving its headquarters from London to New York to concentrate on developing a large customer network, thereby generating over 1,000 jobs in the city.
Despite being established in the UK, Fluidstack made the decision to move from London to be nearer to US clients who are spearheading the AI movement.
Moving the business overseas would be a “step towards the future we believe is coming faster than anyone expects,” according to Mr. Wu at the time.
As AI programs like ChatGPT and Claude get more popular and require more processing power to run the machines, data centre start-ups are currently experiencing a boom.
Bloomberg revealed last month that Fluidstack had withdrawn from a €10 billion (£8.7 billion) data centre in France to construct a one-gigawatt AI supercomputer as part of its move away from Europe.
The initiative served as the centerpiece of Emmanuel Macron’s French AI agenda. The agreement “embodies my ambition,” according to French President Macron.
Situational Awareness, an AI hedge fund started by former OpenAI employee Leopold Aschenbrenner, is among the new investors who have supported the $750 million fundraising, according to company papers.
The 24-year-old Mr. Aschenbrenner has concentrated on investments in energy and AI infrastructure. The assets in his fund are over $5.5 billion.
Google has contributed $1.8 billion to support Fluidstack’s data centre lease commitments.
The Wall Street Journal claims that Google is also in negotiations to purchase stock in Fluidstack.
Additionally, the corporation is collaborating with Anthropic, the company that created the Claude coding bot, to assist in the construction of up to $50 billion worth of AI data facilities in Texas and New York.
Fluidstack chose not to respond. Requests for comment were not answered by Situational Awareness.
This move is part of a broader trend of UK digital infrastructure firms tapping into surging US demand for AI-ready power and space. Other recent examples include AWS planning a $750 million facility in Mississippi and Crusoe securing a $750 million credit facility for AI expansion.
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