Data Center Developer Switch Seeks Financing at Valuation Exceeding $50 Billion
0xBroomberg
Data center developer Switch is in talks to raise a new round at a valuation exceeding $50 billion — nearly four times what it was worth when taken private three years ago, as the AI compute boom reprices the entire sector.
How much is being raised, and who is at the table?
Switch is in early talks with Brookfield Asset Management, KKR, and other institutional investors for a round valuing the company at over $50 billion.
Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan are advising on the fundraise.
All parties stress that discussions are preliminary; terms may shift, and the deal could still fall apart.
Where does a $50 billion price tag come from — nearly 4× in three years?
In 2022, DigitalBridge and IFM Investors took Switch private for roughly $11 billion including debt. The new target tops $50 billion — close to a fourfold increase.
This means → surging AI compute demand is rapidly repricing data center assets across the board.
For comparison, a consortium last year valued Aligned Data Centers at about $40 billion. It remains unclear whether Switch's $50 billion figure includes debt.
What exactly is Switch?
Founded in 2000 by Rob Roy, who still serves as CEO. The company went public in 2017 and was taken private in 2022.
Switch operates multiple data center campuses across the U.S. and drew acquisition interest from SoftBank Group on the strength of its scale and development track record.
In plain terms = this is a 20-plus-year veteran of the data center industry that has cycled through an IPO, a take-private, and now another capital raise.
Why did SoftBank try to buy Switch — and then walk away?
Sources say SoftBank explored acquiring Switch for roughly $50 billion in late 2025 but abandoned talks earlier this year.
Per Bloomberg, SoftBank had concerns about the deal's size and its own ability to operate data center campuses.
SoftBank hasn't left entirely, though — it agreed in late December to acquire Switch's major shareholder DigitalBridge for $4 billion.
What comes after this round?
According to The Information, the fundraise may set the stage for Switch to launch an IPO as early as next year.
This means → if the $50 billion valuation wins investor backing now, it effectively draws a baseline for the IPO price.
This reflects a broader repricing of data center assets amid relentless AI compute expansion — whether Switch can lock in key investors will be the market's core test of that valuation.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.