ALIGNED
The resurgence of US manufacturing“ The US is obviously a leader in technology,” Andrew states.“ And we want to maintain our leadership in technology.” Andrew highlights that Aligned is trying to do its part by providing the infrastructure base layer to“ support all the innovation that is happening.”
Andrew outlines that its tech customers recognise the importance of maintaining technological leadership. He says data centres underpin modern life, whether it’ s Zoom, emergency services, banking or healthcare. He highlights the idea that the digital quality of life we enjoy every day starts with data centres operating behind the scenes. Access to digital services and the internet is now a fundamental utility- as essential and expected as running water or electricity.“ There are a lot of things that I think are important to have built onshore. But I think what takes precedence is technological leadership,” he says.“ I am a big believer in manufacturing in the US, but we must be pragmatic. Certain mature industries may not be coming back. As we decide what to industrialise, the highest and best use of our effort is continuing to be a tech leader.”
Financing the digital infrastructure boom As capital requirements scale to match unprecedented AI demand, digital infrastructure financing is undergoing a classic flight to quality.“ The financing markets are evolving as well,” Andrew says.“ The financing markets really look
Aligned’ s data center campus supports thousands of construction jobs and hundreds of operational careers
at quality of operator.” As institutional investors grow more selective about quality, Andrew notes that the difference comes down to execution:“ It’ s about our ability to repeat business, deliver multiple projects per year and maintain well-structured transactions with our end customers.”
“ We are seeing the same thing in the data centre sector where there is a valuation of quality and what is being built, who the operator is and then who the end customer is,” Andrew says.“ And so, that has changed dramatically.”
Whether deploying debt or equity, institutional capital markets share a single evaluation criterion: operator track record.“ Obviously, the demand in the industry is not the challenge today,” he points out.“ There is a tremendous amount of demand. It really comes down to the team who can execute not only the development, but the ongoing operations for the next 30 years.”
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