Principal® Closes $3.64 Billion Capital Raise for Data Center Growth

Principal®, a leading global investment management firm, has successfully closed a $3.64 billion capital raise for its Principal Data Center Growth & Income Fund. This significant achievement demonstrates the strong demand and interest in data center investments, as Principal surpassed its initial target. To put this into perspective, let's compare it to other recent data center fundraisings:



| Fund Name | Capital Raised | Year |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Principal Data Center Growth & Income Fund | $3.64 billion | 2025 |
| Stonepeak Infrastructure Fund IV | $14 billion | 2025 |
| Principal's US$534.7mn data center fund | $534.7 million | 2024 |

The success of Principal's Data Center Growth fund, along with other recent fundraisings, indicates a strong demand and interest in data center investments. This trend can be attributed to several factors:

* Growing demand for digital data creation, cloud computing, and new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), which require significant infrastructure to support these workloads.
* The surging demand for data center capacity, fueled by the widespread adoption of new technologies, is driving vacancy rates to all-time historic lows and rents to rise.
* The amount of capital required to develop the capacity to fill forecasted demand is unprecedented in the industry, making data centers an attractive investment opportunity for institutional investors looking to diversify their portfolios with a viable alternative asset class.

Principal Asset Management will deploy the raised capital through the development of a portfolio of hyperscale data center projects across the United States in partnership with Stream Data Centers. This strategy aligns with Principal's overall investment philosophy and objectives, as it focuses on investing in scalable sectors of the market that are expected to benefit from secular tailwinds.



Principal's data center investment strategy differs from other major players in the market in several ways, offering unique advantages and opportunities to investors:

1. Focus on Hyperscale Development: Principal's strategy is centered around developing hyperscale data center projects across the United States, capitalizing on the surging demand for digital infrastructure.
2. Global Investment Expertise: Principal Asset Management has public and private market capabilities across all asset classes, enabling it to identify distinct and compelling investment opportunities for over 1,100 institutional clients in over 80 markets.
3. Top 10 Global Real Estate Manager: Principal Real Estate, the dedicated real estate investment team of Principal Asset Management, is a top 10 global real estate manager with over $100 billion in global real estate assets under management, providing Principal with a competitive edge in the data center investment landscape.
4. Opportunistic Real Estate Strategies: Principal's data center investment strategy aligns with its focus on investing in scalable sectors of the market that are expected to benefit from secular tailwinds, offering investors the potential for higher returns and diversification benefits.
5. European Data Center Focus: In addition to its U.S. focus, Principal has also raised a $175mn data center investment fund aimed at European acquisitions, allowing investors to gain exposure to the growing data center market in Europe.

In conclusion, Principal's $3.64 billion capital raise for its Data Center Growth fund demonstrates the strong demand and interest in data center investments, driven by the growing need for data center infrastructure to support expanding use of technology and structural shifts in how data is consumed. Principal's unique approach to data center investments, combined with its global investment expertise and real estate experience, offers investors the opportunity to participate in a high-growth, defensive asset class with strong fundamentals.