12월 둘째 주 News Update

오라클 실적 쇼크 등으로 AI 버블론이 재점화되었으나, NYT·시장 분석가들은 “AI는 인터넷 버블과 달리 수익 모델이 이미 존재하며 확산 속도가 60배 빠르다”며 버블론 과도론 제시.
반면 메타·아마존 등 빅테크 FCF(잉여현금흐름) 악화, GPU·전력·데이터센터 투자로 자금 압박 심화 → 일부는 이를 “빚투 기반 성장”이라 우려.

2) 가장 심각한 병목: GPU가 아니라 '전력'

“전기 없으면 AI 못 돌린다”는 표현이 기사 전체의 주제처럼 반복됨.
미국·유럽·한국 모두 전력망 접속 대기 3~5년, 신규 AI DC 착공이 지연.
한국은 AI 데이터센터 전력량이 미국의 1/22 수준이라는 지적.
SMR·수상태양광·전력직거래(PPA) 같은 대체 전력 전략이 'AI 인프라 전쟁'의 핵심 변수로 부상.

3) 한국: AI 데이터센터 허브 경쟁 본격화

대규모 프로젝트 다수 발표

울산, 포천 등 지자체가 AI DC 유치 성공/협약 체결.
KT클라우드 ‘AI 이노베이션 센터’ 공개: B200 GPU, D2C 냉각, AI 네트워크, 로봇 기반 운영 자동화.
LG·SKT는 정부에 에너지·데이터 정책 지원 요청.
인하대·롯데 등도 자체적 DC 구축 확대.

국가적 과제

전력 부족 우려 → “정부가 AGI 인프라 판을 깔아줘야 한다”
비수도권 이전·전력 직거래·신규 송전 인프라 강화가 해결책으로 반복 제시.

4) AI 데이터센터 기술 트렌드

🔹 냉각: 공냉 → 수냉(D2C) 전환 가속

KT 목동센터는 D2C 기술을 국내 첫 상용화 → 전력 60% 절감, 운영 인력 1/3 감축을 목표로 자동화 로봇 도입.

🔹 컴퓨팅: GPU 증가 → I/O·메모리 병목이 새로운 문제

SSD의 IOPS 부족, 데이터 처리 한계 지적.
CXL 기반 메모리 풀링이 업계 대안으로 급부상.

🔹 전력·그리드 기술

AI 데이터센터 맞춤형 AI 그리드, 분산 전원, ESS, SMR 등 로드맵 언급 증가.

🔹 지속 가능성(Sustainability)

에퀴닉스가 지속가능성 리더로 선정.
독일 프랑크푸르트는 전력망 해법으로 주목.

5) 부품·반도체·재료 시장 큰 변화

🔹 메모리/반도체

마이크론은 '돈 안되는' 소비자용 메모리 철수 → HBM 올인 선언.
삼성·SK·마이크론 3강의 HBM 경쟁이 기술·공정·커스텀 중심으로 재편.

🔹 국내 부품사 M&A·고성장

성호전자가 엔비디아 공급 AI DC 부품업체 2,800억에 인수. AI 인프라 부품 공급망 강화.

🔹 금속 가격 급등

구리·은 가격 상승 → AI·전기차·반도체 생산 차질 우려 → GPU·서버 가격 인상 가능성 존재.

6) 글로벌 투자·입지 경쟁 치열

MS: 인도에 26조 원 규모 투자, 캐나다 포함 총 230억 달러.
구글 클라우드: 에너지 기업과 손잡고 GW급 데이터센터 개발.
AI 인프라 투자 경쟁은 “미국·인도·한국·독일”이 핵심 축.

7) 데이터센터의 사회적 리스크

환경 불평등 문제: 대형 DC가 취약 지역에 집중돼 물·전력 소비 부담 증가.
클라우드플레어 장애 → 글로벌 서비스(Youtube·배민·ChatGPT) 동시 먹통 → CDN·클라우드 의존 리스크가 현실화.

8) 국내 AI 역량의 취약 지점

IBM: “AI 도입률 98%지만 데이터 준비도는 13%” → 데이터 품질·정합성·거버넌스가 가장 큰 성과 저해 요인.
손정의: “한국의 가장 큰 약점은 전력” → 에너지 인프라가 AI 경쟁력의 결정적 요소로 재부상.

📈 이번 주 핵심 트렌드 5가지

1) AI 인프라의 절대적 병목은 GPU → 전력으로 이동

투자 규모가 전례 없이 커지면서 전력 인프라가 국가 경쟁력의 기준이 됨.

2) AI 데이터센터가 지역경제·부동산까지 움직이는 ‘핵심 산업’으로 부상

울산·포천·지방 도시의 집값·고용 증가 현상.

3) 냉각·전력·메모리 기술 경쟁이 본격적으로 터짐

D2C 수냉식, CXL 메모리 풀링, SMR 전력 공급 같은 ‘비GPU 기술’이 성장의 핵심.

4) 부품·재료·메모리 시장의 판도가 AI 인프라 중심으로 재편

HBM이 모든 메모리 기업의 전략 중심축.

5) AI 버블론은 과열이지만 실체는 강화

단기적으로 비용 과열·현금흐름 압박
중장기적으로는 “AI는 이미 돈이 되는 산업 → 버블이 아니라 구조적 전환기” 라는 관점이 우세.

🔍 인사이트: 이번 주 시장이 말하는 ‘핵심 메시지’

✔ AI 인프라 시대의 승자는 더 많은 GPU가 아니라 더 많은 전력을 확보한 국가·기업

에너지 전략(재생에너지, SMR, PPA)이 국가 AI 경쟁력의 핵심 요소.

✔ 데이터의 품질·I/O 병목이 AI 성과의 진짜 장애물

기업 AI 성공의 열쇠는 GPU가 아니라 데이터 거버넌스 → 메모리 구조 → I/O → 에너지 인프라 순서.

✔ AI 데이터센터는 제조업·부동산·전력 산업까지 전체 경제를 재편하는 메가트렌드

단순한 IT 설비가 아니라 국가 인프라 산업으로 격상.

✔ 버블론은 있지만, AI 시장 자체는 구조적 성장 중

GPU·HBM·전력·데이터센터·클라우드·금속 등 모든 공급망이 다음 10년의 슈퍼사이클에 진입했다는 신호.

📊 뉴스 카테고리별 정리

카테고리	핵심 내용	관련 기업/이슈
AI 버블/시장 동향	오라클 어닝쇼크로 버블론 재점화. 빅테크 현금흐름 악화(FCF 급감). 하지만 AI는 파산 위험 낮고 매출 성장 압도적이라 버블 시기상조 반론.	오라클, 메타, 아마존, NYT, IBM(컨플루언트 인수)
AI 데이터센터 핵심 인프라 (전력)	AI DC 전력난 심화. 전력망 접속 5년 대기. 전력 확보가 AI 성공의 관건. SKT는 에너지 정책 지원 호소. 초고압(765kV) 시장 경쟁 격화.	MS, SKT, HD현대일렉, 효성重, 구글 클라우드, 포천시
AI 데이터센터 핵심 인프라 (부품/기술)	GPU에 이은 HBM 품귀 현상 심화. 마이크론 'HBM 올인' 선언. SSD 병목 한계, CXL 기반 메모리 풀링 부각. AI DC 부품업체 인수합병 활발.	마이크론, 삼성, SK하이닉스, 성호전자(에이디에스테크 인수), 에퀴닉스
데이터센터 기술 혁신	고효율·고신뢰 인프라를 위한 혁신. D2C 수냉식 냉각 도입(KT). 로봇을 활용한 서버룸 자율주행 관리.	KT클라우드(AI 이노베이션 센터), KT 목동 DC, 데이터빈, 아이디비(한국형 MDC)
정책/제도/구조적 문제	한국 AI 3대 강국 목표 대비 전력 인프라 한계(美/中 대비 12~22분의 1). 클라우드플레어 등 소수 기업 의존에 따른 대규모 접속 장애 발생 위험. AI 산업의 지적/노동/자원 '착취 구조' 비판.	서울시(DC 전수점검), 클라우드플레어, 세계 100대 석학
지역/글로벌 확장	MS, 인도/캐나다 등 글로벌 DC 확장 가속화. 국내 AI DC 유치로 울산 등 지방 부동산 시장 들썩. 비수도권 이전 및 전력 직거래 허용 필요성 제기.	MS(인도 26조 투자), 울산시, 롯데이노베이트

Global

Nvidia CEO says data centers take about 3 years to construct in the U.S., while in China ‘they can build a hospital in a weekend’

Key Cloud Trends That I&O Leaders Should Leverage in 2026

By leveraging these trends, I&O leaders can enhance flexibility, resilience, and innovation while addressing challenges like geopolitical risks, distributed infrastructure, and the growing impact of generative AI.

How Two-Phase Liquid Cooling Is Solving the Thermal Crisis

Despite integration and supply chain hurdles, recent full-scale deployments and compelling ROI show two-phase cooling moving from niche to mainstream in high-density data centers.

The power crunch threatening America’s AI ambitions

A lack of electricity for new data centres could deflate the AI ‘bubble’

Microsoft invests US$17.5 billion in India to drive AI diffusion at population scale

KKR Joins the AI Gold Rush With Billion-Dollar Bet on Data Center Boom

NextEra, Google accelerate US data center build-out with new deals

A human error at CyrusOne’s data center caused CME’s trading systems to shut down for over 10 hours

America's AI dominance depends on winning the 'power race' against China, energy expert warns

Natural gas projected to meet 60% of power demand growth driven by AI and data centers

There’s More Than One Way to Power Data Centers

AI companies can’t grow at speed without electricity to power their data centers. A new report argues that this isn’t just a matter of adding more power plants.

Micron Exits Consumer Business And Focuses On AI And Data Center Sales

Liquid courage in the white space

Andrew Kernebone from Oper8 speaks on the future of direct-to-chip cooling and global adoption trends

IBM to Buy Confluent in $11B Bid to Boost Data Streaming

The companies say the deal will allow them to boost data handling in hybrid cloud environments.

More than 200 environmental groups demand halt to new US datacenters

Exclusive: Congress urged to act against energy-hungry facilities blamed for increasing bills and worsening climate crisis

AI data centers must be stopped, green groups tell Congress

'The harms of data center growth are well established, and massive.'

NextEra working with Exxon to develop gigawatt data center for hyperscaler

NextEra and Exxon are developing a 1.2 gigawatt power plant that combines gas generation with carbon capture technology.

NextEra plans to pitch the data center site to a hyperscaler. There is no signed agreement with a customer yet.

The company is the largest renewable energy developer in the U.S., but it is leaning into natural gas to meet the growing power demand from data centers.

Data centers rapidly transforming small-town America

Data center developers look to secure land, power and water across US

Data centers for AI could nearly triple San Jose’s energy use. Who foots the bill?

A Clean Sweep: Why Data Center Maintenance Is More Critical Than Ever

As GPUs and dense racks become standard, data center cleaning is no longer optional. Neglecting it could mean risking performance and reliability.

Construction of $3B Data Center in North Dakota Spurs Annexation Battle

Minnesota and North Dakota-based firms are building the center on the site between Fargo and Harwood, N.D.

Electric grid covering Pa. failing to plan for responsible data center load growth, observers say

Beyond the horizon: cost-driven strategies for space-based data centers

ZincFive raises $30m, targets growth within AI data center market

Has now raised $254 million since inception

CME data center shutdown attributable to human error - report

Procedure was not followed when draining cooling towers

Land rezoning approved for data center in Lyon County, Nevada

But more approval still required before construction

Why OpenAI’s AI Data Center Buildout Faces A 2026 Reality Check

CyrusOne files to expand data center campus outside Waco, Texas

Company files to add three more buildings to site next to Calpine Corp gas plant

3.7 million sq ft data center campus gets initial OK from officials in Florida

Project Tango coming to West Palm Beach

Containerized Edge data center firm Armada takes part in US Navy UNITAS exercize

UNITAS exercise uses Armada's Galleon Edge data center offering

Meta scopes out site for data center campus in Finland

Plot identified, but investment decision not finalized

Veon breaks ground on data center in Almaty, Kazakhstan

Local Beeline unit and its Hyper Cloud business targeting sovereign offerings for Kazakhstan

‘Greetings, earthlings’: Nvidia-backed Starcloud trains first AI model in space as orbital data center race heats up

Google’s answer to the AI arms race — promote the guy behind its data center tech

Opt-In NVIDIA Software Enables Data Center Fleet Management

The optional service will allow data center operators to monitor the health of their entire AI GPU fleet to maximize uptime.

Bezos' Blue Origin working on orbital data center technology, WSJ reports

AI Data Centers Have Paid $6B+ In Tariffs In 2025 — A Cost To U.S. AI Competitiveness?

Data center investment likely to hit $1.6 trillion by 2030 – report

Research firm Omdia says data center capex will hit this figure in its “likeliest” scenario

Data Center Physical Infrastructure Market Expands 18 Percent Y/Y in 3Q 2025, According to Dell’Oro Group

Data Center Boom Risks Blackouts, Energy Watchdog Warns

Data center construction should be put on hold until grid operators can ensure reliability, a regional energy monitor argues.

How Will Google and NextEra Build GW-Scale AI Data Centres?

Google Cloud and NextEra Energy will co-develop gigawatt-scale data centres with dedicated power to support AI growth and grid resilience

Siemens and nVent team on AI data center cooling design

Reference architecture targets 100 MW Tier III sites using liquid-cooled NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD racks.

150MW data center proposed for Baltimore County, Maryland

Planned for 42-acre site in Woodlawn area

How Data Centers Redefined Energy and Power in 2025

Energy-efficient AI, battery storage systems, and renewed interest in nuclear have reshaped how data centers generate, consume, and manage energy.

Zurich launches builders risk data center solution

Will Tata and Intel's Deal Boost AI Data Centres in India?

A new Tata-Intel collaboration aims to expand India’s chip output and strengthen the supply chain supporting future AI data centre growth

Fidium sharpens its focus on data centers and wholesale

Google touts fossil fuel-powered data center with almost no emissions

Big dollar data centers: What are the real opportunity costs?

DayOne Data Centers seeks US$2 billion fund for international expansion

Toshiba, Quantum Corridor Hit Quantum-Secure Network Milestone

The companies say their test of quantum-secured communication marks a quantum computing milestone, providing a secure high-speed connection option.

Championing women power in the data center industry

How is Vertiv Building AI-Ready Edge Infrastructure?

Andrea Ferro discusses power density challenges as edge AI market grows to US66.47bn by 2030, with next-generation racks targeting 600kW consumption

InfraRed Capital Partners Launches Qu Data Centres in Canada

InfraRed Capital Partners unveils Qu Data Centres, a nine-site Canadian platform offering sovereign, scalable and sustainable digital infrastructure

Water industry urges national water-efficiency standards for ANZ data centres

Australian Data Centres adds second operational campus in Canberra

Empyrion Digital launches 200MW data center in Johor

Ooredoo partners with Oracle to launch sovereign cloud in Qatar

Daikin Invests in New Lab for Next-Gen Data Centre Cooling

Daikin Applied is building a US$163m R&D lab to accelerate the development of cooling technologies for hyperscale and AI data centres

WinDC unveils portable, renewable-powered AI factories

Racks Central breaks ground on its first Johor data center

Crusoe orders 1.21GW of natural gas turbines from prototype airliner co. Boom Supersonic

Boom successfully raises $300m in Series B funding

$10bn data center project recieves approval in Lacy Lakeview, Texas

Faces backlash from locals

Google’s TPU Roadmap: Challenging Nvidia’s Dominance in AI Infrastructure

Google’s new TPU generations, including Trillium and Ironwood, are emerging as the strongest challenge yet to Nvidia’s GPU leadership, backed by a growing AI Hypercomputer ecosystem.

Siemens and nVent Unveil Nvidia AI Data Centre Blueprint

Siemens and nVent reference architecture aims to speed deployment of 100MW hyperscale AI data centres with liquid cooling and industrial-grade power

What is Deloitte’s Verdict on Data Centre Impact in 2026?

Deloitte’s 2026 Manufacturing Industry Outlook outlines trends set to influence data centre buildout, infrastructure supply and advanced compute

Global data center trends in the second week of December 2025 can be summarized as an AI-driven buildout running into power, policy, and infrastructure limits. Your articles collectively highlight a rapid shift toward high-density, liquid-cooled, power‑hungry facilities, alongside mounting social, environmental, and geopolitical pushback.

(News Article Summary by Perplexity)

AI supercycle and capex surge

AI training and inference continue to be the dominant driver of new data center projects, with hyperscalers, cloud providers, and private equity all racing to secure capacity. Reports now project data center or accelerator markets reaching hundreds of billions of dollars by 2030, and some forecasts suggest total data center investment could approach USD 1.6 trillion by that time.

Major announcements include Microsoft’s multi‑billion‑dollar AI buildout in India, billion‑dollar campuses in the US (Texas, Florida, North Dakota, Maryland), and new platforms in Canada and Southeast Asia.
Traditional vendors are refocusing on AI and data center workloads (for example, Micron moving away from consumer products), while IBM’s planned Confluent acquisition underscores the importance of streaming data in hybrid cloud and AI environments.

Power, grid constraints, and new energy models

Power availability has become the primary bottleneck for AI data centers, with several articles warning of a potential “power crunch” that could limit US AI ambitions. Regional monitors and analysts caution that unchecked AI data center growth could stress local grids to the point of reliability risks and even blackouts.

Deals such as Google–NextEra and NextEra–Exxon show a clear trend toward gigawatt‑scale, dedicated power plants that combine natural gas with carbon capture, alongside renewables and storage, to serve single hyperscale campuses.
Multiple pieces argue that the “power race” between the US and China will shape AI competitiveness, with some projections suggesting natural gas could supply around 60% of incremental power demand from AI and data centers.

High‑density infrastructure and liquid cooling

To support GPU racks, DGX SuperPODs, and other accelerators, operators are pivoting to high‑density designs where traditional air cooling is no longer sufficient. Two‑phase liquid cooling and direct‑to‑chip solutions, once niche, are moving rapidly toward mainstream deployment as recent full‑scale projects show compelling ROI.

Siemens and nVent, Daikin, and others are publishing reference architectures and investing in new R&D labs focused on 100MW‑class AI data centers with advanced liquid cooling and industrial‑grade power systems.
Market research indicates that data center physical infrastructure (power, cooling, racks, batteries) grew about 18% year‑over‑year in 3Q 2025, largely because of AI‑driven upgrades, while cleaning and maintenance are highlighted as critical for reliability in ultra‑dense GPU environments.

Policy, environmental, and social backlash

AI data centers are increasingly a political issue as they reshape land use, water consumption, and local economies. Environmental groups and local communities are pushing back against new builds, arguing that they raise electricity bills, worsen climate risks, and crowd out other uses of land and power.

Over 200 environmental organizations have called on US lawmakers to halt or slow new data center approvals, while specific regions such as San Jose and parts of Pennsylvania worry about how AI‑related loads will be funded and integrated into aging grids.
At the same time, insurance firms are introducing specialized builders‑risk products, and local governments are grappling with rezoning, annexation battles, and the opportunity cost of multi‑billion‑dollar campuses in small towns.

Example: regional and technology tensions

Aspect	Trend in Dec 2nd week 2025
US small towns	Multi‑billion‑dollar campuses, land annexation fights, and debates over tax incentives.
India & SE Asia	Massive AI investments (e.g., Johor, India) plus chip‑supply partnerships like Tata–Intel.
Europe & ANZ	Strong focus on sustainability, water standards, and nuclear/renewable‑backed facilities.
Power technology	Gas + carbon capture, batteries, nuclear interest, and grid‑integrated renewables.
Cooling technology	Rapid adoption of liquid cooling and next‑gen labs and blueprints for AI‑ready designs.

Architecture, edge, and orbital experiments

Beyond giant campuses, several articles show rising interest in distributed and unconventional architectures. Edge and containerized data centers are being tested in military exercises and remote environments, while “AI factories” powered by onsite renewables are emerging as portable, modular units.

Orbital data centers moved from concept to early reality, with Nvidia‑backed Starcloud training its first AI model in space and Blue Origin reported to be working on orbital data center technology.
Vendors like Vertiv are designing AI‑ready edge infrastructure targeting hundreds of kilowatts per rack, reflecting forecasts that the edge AI market will grow sharply toward 2030.

Operations, automation, and human risk

Operational excellence is becoming a strategic differentiator as outages in AI‑critical facilities can cascade into major financial and market disruptions. One reported incident showed that a human error in a cooling procedure at a CyrusOne facility shut down CME’s trading systems for over 10 hours, underlining the importance of procedures and training.

Nvidia is rolling out opt‑in fleet‑management software to monitor GPU health across entire data center estates, a sign that observability and automation are now core to AI infrastructure.
Consulting and analyst reports stress that existing “traditional” data centers with raised floors and standard air cooling will need significant retrofits or new builds to support AI, pushing I&O leaders toward new compute, power, and cooling strategies for 2026 and beyond.