$5 Billion Data Center Partnership: Blue Owl, Chirisa Technology Parks and PowerHouse Join Forces

Chicago, Richmond, VA and McLean, VA, 29 August 2024 – Funds managed by Blue Owl Capital Inc. ("Blue Owl"), Chirisa Technology Parks ("CTP"), and PowerHouse Data Centers ("PowerHouse") have entered into a joint venture development agreement ("JV") to develop large-scale AI/HPC data centres for CoreWeave, Inc. ("CoreWeave"). This agreement marks the first phase of a partnership with the potential to deploy up to £4 billion of capital for turnkey AI/HPC data centre developments, supporting both CoreWeave and other hyperscale and enterprise data centre clients.

This innovative and flexible capital solution will enable the rapid development and deployment of new AI/HPC capacity across the United States on a built-to-suit basis. The initial 120MW of capacity under the program will be delivered for CoreWeave in 2025 and 2026 at CTP's 350-acre campus near Richmond, VA. Future deployments are planned for brownfield and greenfield campuses in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, Kentucky and Nevada.

“This breakthrough transaction with Blue Owl, CTP and PowerHouse is the first stage of a large-scale partnership focused on meeting the near-term requirements of our hyperscale customer base,” commented Lee Hayes, President and CEO of CTP. “Through innovative structuring, broad financial distribution and the transactional expertise of our partners at Blue Owl, this partnership unlocks very substantial growth capital for one of the most important players in today's AI hyperscale landscape."

Doug Fleit, CEO and Co-founder of PowerHouse, added, "PowerHouse is proud to partner with Blue Owl and CTP. By bringing our proven real estate leadership and cadre of acquisition, development, and power procurement experts to the JV, this partnership will redefine the landscape of precision hyperscale infrastructure.”

“This partnership between Blue Owl, CTP and PowerHouse brings together three distinguished operators in our respective areas of expertise,” said Marc Zahr, Blue Owl's Co-President and Head of Real Estate. “Blue Owl is in the process of deploying significant amounts of capital in support of large-scale data centre development transactions across the US and Europe. We are pleased to partner with CoreWeave, CTP and PowerHouse and look forward to supporting the partners' longer-term development ambitions.”

Newmark served as advisor to the Joint Venture. 

About Chirisa Technology Parks

Chirisa Technology Parks (CTP) specialises in developing highly connected data centre campuses with ample power availability in high-demand growth markets in the United States and Europe. CTP's existing data centres are located in Richmond, VA; Chicago, IL; Piscataway, NJ; and Seattle, WA. CTP currently offers over 500,000 square feet of purpose-built data centre capacity, with a pipeline of over 400MW under development in the USA. CTP's designs and rapid delivery process focus on high-efficiency, leading-edge deployments. CTP has extensive capability to partner and/or operate critical facilities, offering solutions for powered shell, build-to-suit, and turnkey delivery of assets for large and sophisticated customers.

About PowerHouse

PowerHouse Data Centers, a wholly owned division of American Real Estate Partners (AREP), is a developer and owner of next-generation data centres and provides technical real estate solutions for hyperscalers nationwide. Starting in Northern Virginia's Data Center Alley, the world's largest data centre market, before strategically expanding to key markets across the United States, PowerHouse owns its land sites, offering unparalleled fast-track approvals and zoning approvals in its full suite of development services.

As an industry disruptor, PowerHouse provides flexible next-generation data centre models with the quickest speed to market of any data centre while meeting hyperscalers' growing market, data, utility, and space demands. The company has 30 buildings currently in planning or underway, representing over 2.3 GW of power in six major US markets. Operating as the data centre division of AREP, PowerHouse is uniquely positioned as a leader in world-class data centre development.

With some of the industry's deepest real estate relationships, PowerHouse leverages its strategic joint venture partnerships, proven leadership, and best-in-class technical expertise to deliver innovative real estate solutions nationwide. Visit their newsroom for more information, and follow them on LinkedIn, YouTube, and X.

About Blue Owl

Blue Owl (NYSE: OWL) is a leading asset manager that is redefining alternatives.

With over £155 billion in assets under management as of 30 June 2024, they invest across three multi-strategy platforms: Credit, GP Strategic Capital, and Real Estate. Anchored by a strong permanent capital base, they provide businesses with private capital solutions to drive long-term growth and offer institutional investors, individual investors, and insurance companies differentiated alternative investment opportunities that aim to deliver strong performance, risk-adjusted returns, and capital preservation.

Together with over 820 experienced professionals, Blue Owl brings the vision and discipline to create the exceptional. To learn more, visit www.blueowl.com.