GenAI causing hyperscale datacentres to swell in size, research shows

Hyperscale datacentres are getting increasingly larger in size, as operators look to bolster the amount of IT load their facilities can handle to accommodate the growing demand for generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) services.

That’s according to figures shared by IT analyst house, Synergy Research Group, whose forecast data shows the average hyperscale datacentre is set to double in size over the next four years.

“The trend has always been for critical IT load of hyperscale datacentres to grow in size over time, but generative AI technology and services are power-hungry and have super-charged that trend,” said Synergy, in a research note.

“Meanwhile, as the average IT load of individual datacentres ramps up, the number of operational hyperscale datacentres will continue to steadily grow.”

The company’s data confirms there are already 1,103 hyperscale datacentres in operation worldwide, with 497 more set to come online within the next four years.

“Combine the ever-increasing number of hyperscale datacentres with a much-increased average size, and we now forecast that total hyperscale datacentre capacity will almost triple by the end of 2030,” added Synergy.

The company’s hyperscale research is based on an analysis of the datacentre footprint and operations of 19 of the world’s major cloud and internet service firms.

“The number of operational hyperscale datacentres continues to grow inexorably, having doubled over the past five years,” said John Dinsdale, chief analyst at Synergy Research Group. “That installed base will continue to grow, but the most marked change in the market is the ever-increasing capacity of datacentres that are being brought online.

“The math is complicated as the mix of hyperscale datacentres continues to change – old versus new, region by region, and owned versus leased – but in aggregate, we will see GPU-oriented infrastructure leading to a doubling of the capacity of new hyperscale datacentres.”

This is the second time in recent days that Synergy Research Group has released figures that point to the transformative impact that the demand for GenAI is having on the datacentre market.

That data revealed that the demand for GenAI services is one of the reasons why spending on datacentre hardware and software had hit a record high in 2024, as datacentre operators splashed the cash last year to bring online AI-ready server farms.

“While the ongoing success of public cloud has been the main driving force behind datacentre investments for well over a decade now, no one imagined a 2024 market for datacentre gear reaching over $280bn,” said Dinsdale.