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Digital Realty is seeing stronger demand for data center capacity as AI-related leasing increases and customers seek faster delivery, according to Jordan Sadler, the company’s SVP of public and private investor relations
In sum – what to know
AI leasing rises – Digital Realty reported record zero-to-one-plus interconnection leasing, with AI-related leasing or workloads accounting for more than 21%.
Time to power tightens – Customers are asking for rooms and data halls to be handed over faster, with some requesting additional crews to accelerate construction.
Hyperscale expands – Developments that once ranged from 30–50 MW are now reaching multiple hundreds of megawatts and, in some cases, gigawatt scale.
Digital Realty is seeing stronger demand for data center capacity as AI-related leasing increases and customers seek faster delivery, according to Jordan Sadler, senior vice president of public and private investor relations at Digital Realty.
Speaking at the Bank of America 2026 Media, Communications & Entertainment Conference, Sadler said the company’s growth expectations had changed following strong leasing activity during the first half of the year.
Digital Realty had $1.9 billion of signed but not commenced leases at June 30. Including a $400 million lease signed in July after the quarter ended, the figure reached $2.3 billion. Sadler said that amount represented more than 30% of the company’s in-place data-center revenue.
Sadler described three core pillars of growth for Digital Realty: the zero-to-one-plus interconnection business, the hyperscale business, and strategic private capital. He said the company raised $3.25 billion of LP equity for its first closed-end fund last year, supporting more than $10 billion of investment activity at cost in data centers.
Customer requirements are also affecting the pace of data-center construction. Sadler said customers are focused on “time to power” and are asking Digital Realty to hand off rooms or data halls as quickly as possible. Some customers are also asking the company to accelerate construction by adding resources.
The company is also addressing labor requirements as construction activity increases. Sadler said Digital Realty is maintaining construction activity in existing markets and working to keep crews active through consistent projects. The company is also bringing additional people into the data-center workforce through internships and new hires.
Digital Realty currently has $20 billion of data-center construction underway, compared with $10 billion at the end of 2025, according to Sadler.
The scale of hyperscale projects is also increasing. Sadler said developments that previously ranged from 30, 40 or 50 megawatts are now reaching multiple hundreds of megawatts and, in some cases, gigawatt scale.
AI demand is also appearing within Digital Realty’s enterprise and colocation business. Sadler said zero-to-one-plus interconnection leasing reached a record $108 million in the latest quarter, with AI-related leasing or workloads accounting for more than 21% of that activity.
Digital Realty is also using its procurement and development processes as it expands construction. Sadler said the company has had a vendor-managed inventory program for more than a decade and has relationships with its largest vendors while buying at scale across the equipment stack.
The company also has a global design, engineering, and construction team that uses standardized designs and works with general contractors to obtain guaranteed maximum prices, according to Sadler.
