Morgan Stanley sees US data center costs climbing to $49B per gigawatt

Morgan Stanley estimates U.S. data center costs have climbed to roughly $49 billion per gigawatt, flagging rising buildout expenses as a potential strain on AI infrastructure growth. The bank said higher costs could pressure investment returns across the AI infrastructure stack and make energy access a critical determinant of project viability. The estimate underscores how power availability, not just chip supply, is becoming a binding constraint on data center expansion. Investors are watching for further cost revisions and grid interconnection timelines as AI capacity buildouts scale.