In 2026 the four largest US hyperscalers plan to spend roughly $725 billion on capital expenditure, most of it on AI data centres. Money is no longer the scarce input. Power, equipment, permits and specialist people are, and they are now deciding where capacity gets built and who gets paid to build it.

Artificial intelligence has turned the data centre into the most contested asset class in the global economy — and the professionals who design, build, commission and run these facilities into some of the most sought-after people in engineering.