Data Centers are Driving High-Value Investments, Data Center World Bolsters Program with Investment Titans to Share Critical Insights

Shark Tank Veteran and Renowned Investor Kevin O’Leary, Geneviève Maltais-Boisvert, Managing Director, DigitalBridge Investment Management and Paul Palandjian, CEO, O’Leary Ventures to Share Data Center Investment Opportunities

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The data center market is booming and is expected to reach $151 billion in 2029. (Omdia) To help investors stay ahead in this digital revolution, Data Center World—the premier global conference for data center IT infrastructure, mission-critical facilities management, power innovations, emerging construction practices, and AI-driven technologies—has strengthened its program with leading investment experts to deliver essential market insights.

Data Center World is AFCOM’s annual gathering of IT and data center professionals. Data Center World 2025 takes place April 14-17, 2025 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. Register here.

Tara Gibb, Senior Director, Data Center World said, “We are very excited to add these influential investment leaders to our program. Attending Data Center World is the perfect opportunity for the data center ecosystem to gain critical insights, engage with industry leaders, and identify lucrative investment opportunities.”

On April 17, Shark Tank veteran and renowned investor Kevin O’Leary will share his insights on why data centers are today’s gold rush. O’Leary is known as Mr. Wonderful from ABC’s ‘Shark Tank’ series – though today, he is better known for his venture capitalist and investment pursuits. And one industry he is hot on is data centers. He promotes investing in data centers in mainstream media, but he is also personally investing in a ‘mega data center project’ called Wonder Valley through his O’Leary Ventures company. This AI-powered data center industrial park will be nestled within the Greenview Industrial Gateway (GIG) in Alberta’s Municipal District of Greenview. Planned as an off-grid, approximately 8-gigawatt AI Data Center Park, Wonder Valley represents a bold step into the future of technology. During his presentation, O’Leary will share his learnings from this critical project, and insights on the data center industry and its thirst for power and alternative energy resources. He will also share anecdotes from his 15-year run as one of the most popular judges on Shark Tank.

In addition, Wade Vinson, Chief Data Center Engineer, at NVIDIA will deliver a keynote on the topic of “Data Centers at Scale in the Age of Accelerated Computing” and Lucia Tian, Head of Clean Energy and Decarbonization Technologies, Google and Jeffrey Olson, Vice President of Business Development & Finance, Kairos Power will present “Powering the Future: Google and Kairos Power’s Collaborative Path to Clean Energy.”

To learn more about the Data Center World conference program, click here.

Data Center Investor Forum – April 15
The Data Center Investor Forum provides institutional investors, private equity and wealth managers, brokers, real estate investors and advisory service providers with comprehensive updates on market trends, regulatory changes, impacts from AI, and technological advancements that are shaping the future of digital infrastructure as well as unparalleled networking opportunities. The Forum takes place on Tuesday, April 15.

The Investor Forum will provide comprehensive updates on market trends, factors to consider for funding complex data center development projects as well as the power considerations, regulatory changes, impacts from AI, and technological advancements that are shaping the future of digital infrastructure.

Geneviève Maltais-Boisvert, Managing Director, DigitalBridge Investment Management will kick off the Forum with the keynote “Shaping the Future of Digital Infrastructure Investments.” Maltais-Boisvert, who brings nearly two decades of expertise in global infrastructure funds direct investing, and corporate finance, will discuss the evolving landscape of digital infrastructure investments including how trends in AI, energy, and consolidation are reshaping the data center industry and what investors must prioritize to maximize returns in this dynamic ecosystem. Attendees will leave the presentation understanding macro trends driving digital infrastructure growth; how AI and sustainability are redefining investment strategies; the opportunities in emerging markets and technologies; and gain insights from C-level leaders on navigating risks and seizing opportunities.

Paul Palandjian, CEO, O’Leary Ventures will present “A View From Wonder Valley: Inside O’Leary Ventures’ Data Center Project.” Palandjian, who has a diverse background of venture investing into seed through late-stage companies across a broad spectrum of businesses, will share insights and learnings from the O’Leary Ventures’ journey to bring Wonder Valley to life. Palandjian will share understandings on the complex decisions and partnerships needed to realize the vision for the project – from funding to site selection to design and construction to power resourcing and operations.

Learn more about the Data Center Investor Forum here.

To register to attend Data Center World, click here.

For media registration, click here.

For information on exhibition or sponsorship opportunities, contact Susan Gillespie at [e-mail].

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About Data Center World

Data Center World is the global conference for data center facilities and IT professionals. It offers premier education, abundant networking, and the broadest access to best-in-class vendors. Designed to help data center and IT infrastructure professionals with challenging issues, Data Center World presents top quality knowledge without bias towards a specific vendor product or service. CIO Dive named Data Center World one of the top technology conferences to attend in 2024 for the second consecutive year. Additionally, for the third year in a row, Data Center World has been recognized by Trade Show Executive as a fast-growing trade show. Data Center World 2025 will be held April 14-17, in Washington, D.C. Data Center World is produced by Informa PLC. Building on the success of Data Center World U.S., the inaugural Data Center Asia, taking place July 15-17, 2025 in Hong Kong, will serve as the epicenter for data center technology innovations and business transformations in the fast-growing Asia-Pacific markets.

About AFCOM

AFCOM advances data center and IT professionals by delivering comprehensive and vendor-neutral education and peer-to-peer networking to its members around the world. Through forward-looking research, AFCOM supports thousands of IT, operations, facilities, builders/designers and vendors working in the data center and IT infrastructure industry. In serving the data center industry for more than 40 years, AFCOM has earned recognition as the market leader in educating, connecting and guiding the data center community.