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Digital Realty

Global provider of carrier-neutral data centers, colocation, and interconnection for AI and cloud.

Updated April 2026

Overview

Founded
2004
Headquarters
Austin, TX
Segment
Data Center Operators
Posture
Wholesale / Hyperscale Leasing

Product overview

Digital Realty operates the world's largest data center platform with 300+ facilities in 50+ metros across 25+ countries, delivering scalable colocation, interconnection via PlatformDIGITAL®, and high-density support for AI workflows including up to 150kW per cabinet with advanced liquid cooling.. It serves 5,000+ enterprise and service provider customers like NVIDIA for AI factories, emphasizing sustainability, 99.999% uptime, and global reach.. Distinct for its carrier-neutral ecosystem, hyperscale funds, and AI-optimized infrastructure amid booming demand, with record $1.2B bookings in 2025..

Revenue model

REIT generating revenue primarily from colocation (0-1MW, ~$100-450/kW market avg), hyperscale (>1MW leases, ~$120-180/kW/year premiums for AI), interconnection, and tenant reimbursements; Q4 2025 bookings $400M annualized GAAP rental revenue, renewals +6.1% cash spreads, $817M backlog., .

Moat

Digital Realty's key competitive moat is its PlatformDIGITAL®, a global, scalable ecosystem of over 300 carrier-neutral data centers across 50+ metros in 25 countries, enabling seamless hybrid/multi-cloud interconnection, low-latency AI deployments, and high-density power up to 150 kW per cabinet with advanced cooling. This creates high switching costs for large enterprise and hyperscaler tenants—evidenced by industry-low churn (mostly from mergers/bankruptcies), a $852-919 million lease backlog locking in revenue through 2026, and 8-19.9% rental rate increases on renewals—while its massive scale in prime locations like Northern Virginia and Frankfurt erects barriers to entry amid AI-driven demand.