Digital Realty Closes $3.25B Data Center Fund
The REIT plans to hold ownership rights over 20 percent of all the properties acquired by the fund
By Brian Pascus March 30, 2026 2:05 pm
reprints
As the world becomes increasingly reliant on artificial intelligence and cloud computing, one of the largest real estate investment trusts (REITs) in the global data center space has just inaugurated a new fundraising and capital markets investment strategy.
Digital Realty, a global data center REIT with roughly $50 billion in total assets, announced Monday that it has closed its inaugural U.S. hyperscale data center fund with $3.25 billion in fresh equity investments.
The firm secured the new capital from a collection of global institutional investors that include public pension funds, corporate pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and family offices, as well as endowments and foundations, according to a release.
Eastdil Secured and PJT Park Hill Group were used as Digital Realty’s placement agents during the fundraising.
Matt Mercier, Digital Realty’s chief financial officer, said in a statement that demand for data centers “remains exceptionally strong,” largely as it rides secular tailwinds surrounding AI adoption at scale, increased cloud computing needs by corporations and individuals, and the ongoing digitalization of how Americans work.
“The U.S. remains the world’s cornerstone market for advanced technology companies, and we are proud to support their growth through our inaugural fund,” he said.
Digital Realty — whose portfolio includes cloud- and carrier-neutral data centers in Northern Virginia, Santa Clara, Dallas and other Tier 1 U.S. metro areas — plans to maintain 20 percent ownership interest in the portfolio assets acquired by the $3.25 billion fund, and will oversee leasing, operations and asset management of these new acquisitions.
Greg Wright, Digital Realty’s chief investment officer, noted in a statement that the new fund will support Digital Realty’s PlatformDigital, a secure network of cloud “meeting spaces” that links together 290 data centers across 50 metro areas to support operations of different hyperscalers.
“Private capital is playing an increasingly important role in how we prudently and efficiently scale PlatformDigital,” he said. “Strengthening our private capital capabilities enhances our customer focus, expands our ability to fund growth, and positions Digital Realty for durable long-term value creation.”
Brian Pascus can be reached at bpascus@commercialobserver.com.
