TL;DR

  • Capital discipline is reshaping investment strategies. Investors are reassessing valuation models, underwriting standards, and financing structures as risk is repriced across digital infrastructure.
  • Power has become a primary investment consideration. Energy availability, water access, and permitting timelines are increasingly determining where AI infrastructure can be developed and scaled.
  • Execution certainty now drives value creation. Developers and investors are prioritizing projects with realistic delivery timelines, secured power resources, and clear paths to deployment.
  • Regional differences are influencing capital allocation. Variations in energy availability, regulatory environments, and market maturity continue to shape investment decisions across EMEA, APAC, and the Americas.

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The Tech Capital’s International Finance Forum (IFF) 2026, held May 11-12, 2026, in London, provided a platform for senior leaders from the global digital infrastructure, investment, energy, and technology sectors to examine how risk is being reassessed across the market. Held under the theme Risk, Repriced, the fifth annual forum explored the changing assumptions surrounding valuation, underwriting, capital deployment, and infrastructure execution as AI-driven demand continues to accelerate. With participants representing more than 40 countries and organizations spanning data centers, connectivity, finance, and energy, the event focused on the realities shaping the next phase of infrastructure investment.

Rather than concentrating on future possibilities, the agenda focused on the practical challenges affecting infrastructure deployment today. Topics ranging from capital formation and valuation discipline to energy availability and project delivery reflected a market increasingly focused on fundamentals, execution, and long-term sustainability.

Capital Markets Enter a More Disciplined Era

One of the strongest themes emerging from the forum was the shift toward greater investment discipline. As financing conditions evolve and infrastructure requirements become more complex, investors are reassessing how risk should be measured and rewarded.

Marc Ganzi, CEO of DigitalBridge Group, opened the event with a discussion centered on capital allocation and market confidence. His remarks explored how investors are balancing the tremendous growth opportunity created by AI with concerns surrounding energy access, geopolitical uncertainty, and project execution. The message resonated across multiple sessions, where speakers examined the growing role of private credit, structured finance, and alternative funding models as organizations seek greater flexibility while maintaining prudent risk management.

Several panels also explored whether current valuation assumptions remain appropriate in a market where timelines are extending, costs are increasing, and infrastructure projects face greater operational complexity than in previous development cycles.

Valuation Models Face a Reality Check

As AI infrastructure expands, many of the assumptions that have traditionally supported digital infrastructure valuations are being tested. Speakers examined how leasing expectations, discount rates, utilization forecasts, and long-term growth projections are changing as investors place greater emphasis on execution certainty and operational performance.

Andrew Schaap, CEO of Aligned Data Centers, and Krupal Raval, Chief Strategy Officer of CyrusOne, participated in discussions examining supply, demand, and valuation trends across the sector. Their perspectives reflected a growing recognition that successful infrastructure development depends on more than projected demand. Access to power, realistic construction timelines, and the ability to deliver capacity when customers need it have become equally important considerations when assessing project value.

The result is a market that is placing greater weight on demonstrated execution capabilities and less emphasis on assumptions that may have been acceptable during periods of lower capital costs and fewer infrastructure constraints.

Energy Availability Is Reshaping Infrastructure Strategy

Power emerged as one of the defining topics of the event, appearing throughout discussions on  finance, development, policy, and risk. As AI workloads continue to increase power requirements, energy availability is becoming a critical factor in determining where infrastructure can be developed and how quickly projects can move forward.

Ayotunde Coker, CEO of Open Access Data Centres (OADC), joined discussions examining the physical limitations facing AI infrastructure growth. Conversations explored how power generation, water availability, grid access, and permitting timelines are influencing both investment decisions and project economics.

Many participants noted that energy is no longer simply an operational consideration. In many markets, access to reliable power has become one of the primary determinants of infrastructure value, influencing site selection, underwriting decisions, and long-term growth strategies.

Development Economics Continue to Evolve

The relationship between land, power, pricing, and project timelines was another recurring topic. As development conditions become more challenging, investors and operators are reevaluating how and where capital should be deployed.

Doug Recker, CEO of Duos Technologies Group, participated in the session “Build, Buy or Wait: When Land, Power and Price Stop Aligning,” which examined the changing economics of infrastructure development. Alongside fellow panelists, Recker explored how rising land costs, constrained power availability, permitting requirements, and community considerations are affecting investment decisions.

The discussion highlighted a growing shift away from assumptions that development automatically delivers superior returns. In some cases, acquisition opportunities may offer greater certainty, while in others, delaying investment until market conditions improve may become a viable strategic option. These decisions are becoming increasingly nuanced as infrastructure projects face more variables than ever before.

Regional Markets Continue to Follow Different Paths

While AI demand is global, the conditions supporting infrastructure investment vary considerably by region. Sessions focused on regional capital dynamics and diverging risk profiles examined how investors are evaluating opportunities across Europe, North America, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific.

Energy availability, regulatory frameworks, political stability, and market maturity all emerged as factors influencing where capital is flowing. Rather than pursuing uniform global expansion strategies, many organizations are tailoring investment decisions to regional realities, recognizing that the risks and opportunities associated with infrastructure development differ significantly from market to market.

These regional distinctions are expected to play an increasingly important role as investors seek opportunities that offer both growth potential and greater certainty of execution.

The Next Phase of Infrastructure Investment

A central conclusion from IFF 2026 was that digital infrastructure remains one of the most attractive sectors for long-term investment, but the criteria for success are changing. Demand continues to grow, particularly as AI adoption expands, yet investors are paying closer attention to the factors that determine whether projects can actually be delivered.

Power availability, permitting timelines, workforce capacity, financing structures, and operational execution are now influencing investment decisions as much as market demand itself. The organizations best positioned for success will be those capable of navigating these constraints while maintaining the flexibility required to adapt to a rapidly evolving infrastructure landscape.

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