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We are experiencing a revolution in digital infrastructure. Artificial Intelligence gets most of the attention, but the appetite for expanded capacity – and the magnet for new public and private investment – affects myriad digital technologies. Broadband fiber, data centers, wireless spectrum networks, and advanced chip manufacturing are attracting billions of dollars in new funding. What does this rapid deployment of capital mean for future applications of digital infrastructure, and how will the technology underpinning these projects impact the country’s power and energy needs and climate goals?
In this episode, “The Digital Infrastructure Revolution: AI Drives Massive Investment in Data Centers and Connectivity,” host Allan Marks speaks with Milbank partners Patrick Campbell and Jaime Ramirez. They examine how the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 and other federal programs together with the explosion of new artificial intelligence technology and the impacts of the pandemic are driving a massive wave of investment in fiber and data center projects. They explore whether we are in a digital bubble and assess how digital infrastructure forms a distinct asset class. They analyze trends in new manufacturing capacity and how power consumption and deployment will shape the digital sector going forward. They also discuss widespread AI adoption by both consumers and enterprises and what the infrastructure support needed to facilitate it means for future demand.
About the Speakers
Patrick S. Campbell is a partner in the Washington, DC office of Milbank LLP and a member of the firm’s Transportation and Space Group. Mr. Campbell’s practice focuses on transactional, corporate and regulatory matters in the digital infrastructure space. He has worked extensively on such matters on behalf of domestic and foreign fiber optic, wireless, data center, tower, satellite, computing service, media and Internet companies, as well as banks, private equity firms and other entities investing in, or providing securitization or other debt financing for, these companies.
Jaime E. Ramirez is a partner in the New York office of Milbank and a member of the firm’s Global Project, Energy and Infrastructure Finance Group. He focuses on representing parties in the acquisition, development and financing of large scale natural resource and infrastructure projects. His experience also includes the representation of investment banks and borrowers in cross-border financing transactions, particularly in Latin America.
Podcast host Allan Marks is one of the world's leading project finance lawyers. He advises developers, investors, lenders, and underwriters around the world in the development and financing of complex energy and infrastructure projects, as well as related acquisitions, restructurings and capital markets transactions. Many of his transactions relate to ESG and sustainability, innovative clean technologies, and sophisticated contractual risk allocation. Allan serves as an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley at the Law School and previously at the Haas School of Business.
