New alliance aims to fast-track AI data centre development
Two companies have formed a new alliance to address the increasing strains facing data centre developments, particularly with the surge in demand driven by artificial intelligence (AI) workloads. hi-tequity and Site Selection Group are combining their expertise to help developers mitigate delays caused by fragmented project delivery and tightening resource availability.
Industry constraints
The rise in AI-related workloads has created a spike in demand for new data centre capacity. However, developers are struggling to keep pace due to limited access to suitable sites, power resources, and critical computing equipment. Traditional development models, which typically approach these elements in a linear, isolated fashion, have not kept up with the accelerated requirements of the AI sector.
Projects often face delays as companies manage multiple vendor relationships for site selection, power negotiations, economic incentives, and the procurement of specialist hardware, resulting in bottlenecks that impact delivery speed and certainty.
Alliance approach
The partnership between hi-tequity and Site Selection Group aims to remove these bottlenecks by offering a single, coordinated service model. This approach combines site selection, power and utility negotiations, incentive access, and hardware procurement from the earliest project stages.
By integrating these tasks and running them in parallel, the alliance claims project delivery times can be reduced significantly, which can make a substantial difference in a market where the speed of delivery often determines commercial success.
"We're creating a force multiplier for our clients. The traditional approach requires juggling multiple vendors, each working in silos. By integrating Site Selection Group's expertise with our equipment procurement from day one, we're collapsing timelines and eliminating costly delays when every month matters," said Ryne Friedman, Associate, hi-tequity.
Utility and incentives
Both firms highlight that relationships with utilities and economic development agencies are central to effective data centre strategy. The Site Selection Group's long-standing partnerships in these sectors, originally forged through its call centre site selection work and expanded with the rise of the data centre market, provide the alliance access to prime locations and incentive packages ahead of broader market availability.
"We've been working with colocation operators, data center developers, utilities, and economic development groups for 15 years, building relationships that originated with our call center work and evolved as the data center market exploded. Combined with hi-tequity's ability to secure critical equipment in a constrained supply environment, we're delivering what the industry desperately needs: speed, certainty, and strategic advantage," said Michael Rareshide, Partner, Data Centre Practise, Site Selection Group.
Single-source delivery
The alliance also offers clients a single point of accountability across the full project lifecycle. This model aims to reduce the project risks and workforce coordination challenges which can occur in traditional multi-vendor arrangements. Developers work with a unified programme, from site assessment through to electrification and hardware installation.
Key to the offering is also the ability to match client needs with robust electrical infrastructure. Both companies leverage their utility partnerships to identify sites with suitable grid capacity to support highly demanding AI and high-performance computing applications.
Ongoing projects
hi-tequity and Site Selection Group are already working together on several AI data centre projects in North America, with further initiatives planned for the future. According to the alliance, projects delivered under this integrated approach have the potential for completion in as little as a quarter of the time taken by traditional methods.
