Data center operators secure billions in bank guarantees to fund massive AI buildout

Building AI infrastructure is expensive. Powering it might be even more expensive. And now, data center operators are getting creative with how they pay the electric bill.

QTS, the Blackstone-backed data center giant, approached roughly a dozen banks in late April to arrange approximately $2 billion in guaranteed utility payments. The goal: lock down the massive electricity supplies needed to scale AI operations without immediately dipping into traditional debt markets. Not to be outdone, Switch Inc., backed by DigitalBridge, assembled its own $2.6 billion bank pledge, reportedly a first-of-its-kind structure in the industry.

A new playbook for paying the power bill

Unlike traditional bank guarantees, surety bonds don’t require operators to post collateral. They also come with payout timelines as short as 10 business days. In English: operators get to keep their cash free for actual construction while still proving to utilities they’re good for the money. It’s a meaningful efficiency gain when you’re talking about billions in capital deployment.

QTS and Switch lead the charge

QTS has been on an absolute tear since Blackstone acquired it in 2021. The company has grown its leased capacity 14x since that acquisition.

And QTS isn’t relying on a single funding channel. The company has layered multiple financing mechanisms on top of each other: a $1.65 billion private bond sale in 2025, a $2.05 billion CMBS refinancing, and a $4.6 billion bond tied to a Microsoft-tenant facility in Georgia. The $2 billion bank guarantee arrangement adds yet another tool to an already complex capital stack.

The pattern extends beyond US borders too. Thailand’s Energy Regulatory Commission drafted regulations in early 2026 proposing bank guarantees or collateral requirements for data center power purchases, suggesting that governments are also recognizing the need for financial safeguards as AI-driven energy demand accelerates globally.

Why crypto investors should care

Bitcoin miners have been steadily pivoting toward AI and high-performance computing operations as a diversification strategy. Companies like Core Scientific, Hut 8, and others have repositioned their facilities to serve AI workloads alongside, or sometimes instead of, mining operations. The financial innovations happening in the data center space directly affect the economics of these hybrid operations.

There’s also the private equity angle. Blackstone’s involvement with QTS and DigitalBridge’s backing of Switch represent massive institutional capital flowing into digital infrastructure.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.