June 4, 2026 — Supply chain snarls are the next big challenge to growth in the digital infrastructure industry, according to reporting in the Wall Street Journal. The story keys off news that Google parent Alphabet plans an $85 billion equity raise to finance data center construction and confirms grumblings from across the industry that backlogs for parts are creeping up the list of reasons for project delays.

Lack of available electric grid power capacity for data centers has long been the dominant challenge in the industry, which spurred the rush to behind-the-meter power solutions to generate the gigawatts necessary for AI factories. This trend revitalized the nuclear power industry and is fueling a stampede to natural-gas rich West Texas.

These solutions require parts – from turbines to transformers – that face their own years long backlogs.

“It is a seeming paradox,” the Wall Street Journal notes. “If hyperscalers can’t break ground on many of the projects they have already announced, what difference can hundreds of billions of dollars more make—however eager Wall Street may be to supply it?”

News Bytes

Inference Infrastructure: As the AI race moves beyond training models to using models, an activity called inference, the distribution of data centers around the world may shift to accommodate low-latency interactions, according to industry observers. The rapid adoption of AI agents is beginning to test the hypothesis. AI software company Mathpix is deploying Nvidia B300 GPUs at colocation provider DataVerge’s facility in Brooklyn, New York, for faster response times and lower costs, Data Center Knowledge reports. Meanwhile, San Francisco-based startup SPAN is trialing mini data centers for AI workloads as side installations with new homes, according to Ars Technica.

Resistance Rising: If an uptick in the quality and depth of reporting signals growing interest in a topic, community concern about data center development is on the rise. The New York Times sent journalists to Montana to report a story about a local woman’s quest for answers about a proposed 5,000-acre AI data center outside of Billings that could impact the way of life in the rural community. The Frederick News Post ran a long read on how fights over data centers have escalated from local city councils to a political flashpoint from coast to coast. Meanwhile, The Tech Capital is keeping tabs on political and community pushback against data center development with a weekly update.

Geothermal Sizzles: Fervo Energy, a geothermal energy company that deploys advanced drilling techniques to extract heat from deep inside the earth to generate electricity, raised about $1.9 billion in an initial public offering on May 12 for an initial valuation of $7.7 billion, noted Canary Media. The company is the most well-known geothermal play backed by big tech to provide power for data AI data centers. Meanwhile, geothermal company XGS Energy has partnered with Baker Hughes for engineering services on a 150 MW project in New Mexico tied to an offtake agreement with Meta, Data Center Dynamics reports.

One Cool Thing

Innovation Acceleration: The world’s leading technology companies have teamed up with nonprofit investor Elemental Impact to launch the Data Center Innovation Initiative to accelerate next-generation energy and materials technologies. The initiative will invest $500,000 to $5 million per project in up to 10 technology startups through 2027. The collaboration will help accelerate “technologies that reduce emissions and deliver more positive impact for communities, including affordable, reliable energy,” Dawn Lippert, CEO and Founder of Elemental Impact, said in a press release.