AI Selloff Exposes Data Center Boom Risks

The market correction in AI equities has exposed the leverage built into the data-center construction boom. What looked like an unstoppable wave of capex now faces a classic credit squeeze: lenders are re-pricing risk precisely when developers need the most capital. Higher rates and tighter covenants will weed out marginal projects and favor operators with real anchor tenants and proven execution.

AIB Data Centers is pushing ahead with its first Texas facility despite the turbulence. Halisky is candid that the company’s plans hinge on securing financing that is both timely and cost-effective. She flags Nebius as the key tenant but concedes the market’s reaction to that relationship is adding scrutiny from banks. Power availability and permitting delays are already lengthening the timeline; any further increase in the cost of capital compounds those headwinds.

Yet Halisky views the selloff as temporary. Demand for compute has not reversed—only the financing assumptions have. For investors, the lesson is straightforward: the companies that survive this repricing will be those whose balance sheets and contracts can withstand higher rates and longer lead times. The rest will be footnotes in the next boom-bust cycle of infrastructure hype.