Switch eyes $80B valuation in up to $10B data center IPO
Data center operator Switch has hired Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan for a potential $10 billion IPO targeting an $80 billion valuation, cementing the AI infrastructure boom as the main driver of this year's resurgent US equity markets.
Data center operator Switch has hired Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase to lead an initial public offering that could raise up to $10 billion as early as the fourth quarter. The listing would value the Las Vegas-based company at close to $80 billion including debt, according to people familiar with the confidential deliberations.
A debut at that valuation would represent a nearly seven-fold increase from the $11 billion price tag when private equity firm DigitalBridge and IFM Investors took the company private in 2022. It underscores how aggressively financial markets are pricing the specialized physical infrastructure required to support surging artificial intelligence demand.
Switch builds large-scale data center campuses that supply the immense power, cooling and connectivity needed to run energy-intensive GPU clusters. Its client roster spans major technology and logistics firms, including Nvidia, Dell Technologies and FedEx. The company has powered its facilities entirely with renewable energy since 2016, a characteristic that aligns with the strict decarbonization targets of its technology customers.
The planned listing adds significant momentum to a resurgent US IPO market driven primarily by technology and AI-related listings. Proceeds from US IPOs have reached $155.5 billion so far this year, marking the strongest pace since 2021, according to Dealogic data.
Switch is entering a crowded pipeline of AI-adjacent companies heading to the public markets. Investors have recently absorbed the historic public debut of SpaceX, while high-profile offerings from Anthropic and OpenAI remain on the horizon. AI chipmaker Cerebras Systems also surged in its market debut in May after raising $5.55 billion.
Data centers have emerged as a critical bottleneck in the AI buildout, as cloud providers and enterprises race to secure computing capacity for increasingly powerful models. Other data center operators are moving to capitalize on this demand, with SoftBank-backed SB Energy and Brookfield-backed Csquare—which is targeting a $4.18 billion valuation—also preparing listings.
The exact size, timing and valuation of the Switch offering remain fluid and could still change. Ahead of the public listing, the company has held discussions with private investors about raising capital at a valuation of at least $40 billion. Australian pension fund Aware Super purchased a minority stake in Switch in 2023. Switch, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan declined to comment.
