OK, so where are all these data centres?
The AI buildout has a $500B+ problem nobody is talking about: data centers promised for 2025 are still under construction or don't exist.
Why it matters
Major tech firms have announced far more data-center capacity than is actually being built or operational. This creates a structural mismatch between AI capex spending and the physical infrastructure needed to run it—reshaping cloud economics, regional competition, and the feasibility of training the next generation of frontier models.
The key facts
5 to knowFinancial Times investigation reveals announced data-center capacity significantly exceeds completed construction
Construction timelines for AI-grade facilities slipping by 12-24 months in many cases
Power, real estate, and permitting constraints cited as bottlenecks (Texas freeze, European grid limits, land scarcity)
Gap between announced capex and operational rack delivery widening through 2026-2027
Implications for cloud pricing, regional AI sovereignty, and frontier lab training schedules
Go to the source
Financial Times Technologyft.com
Publisher excerpt: A construction shortfall so big you can’t see it from space