Atmosphere DC Holdings is making headway in the booming business of providing data center infrastructure for cloud and AI systems.
Newport Beach-based Atmosphere said Aug. 19 that it had secured a “significant strategic growth investment” from AGC Equity Partners of London.
While he declined to specify the amount of money raised from AGC, Atmosphere CEO Chuck McBride said the total amount his company has raised is in the “hundreds of millions.”
He couldn’t disclose the value of the AGC investment but said the London-based company is a “strong partner” for future growth in the booming data center sector.
“It’s the No. 1 industry in the world right now,” McBride said.
The company’s “flagship project” is in the top data center market in the world – the area in and around Ashburn, Virginia, known as “data center alley” because of the cluster of high-tech businesses there. An estimated 70% of the world’s internet traffic travels through data center alley each day, according to industry website Lightyear.ai.
Guggenheim Securities is acting as advisers to the Newport Beach-based company in the transaction with AGC.
Atmosphere says its high-performance computing campuses are engineered for AI, machine learning, cloud and enterprise workloads.
“We are building large hyperscale campuses for AI (artificial intelligence) and cloud,” according to McBride. Hyperscalers provide large-scale cloud computing and data management services.
Four other projects are in the works, including one in Nashville.
Radius, Omni-Threat
McBride came to Atmosphere DC from RadiusDC, a Denver-based data center company. His resume also includes a stint as chief revenue officer at Omni-Threat Structures, a construction protection specialist based in Dallas.
Data centers have come under increasing scrutiny and criticism due to their enormous electricity use. However, McBride emphasized his company’s energy-efficient operations.
The AGC capital will accelerate Atmosphere’s expansion, including site acquisitions, construction and strategic partnerships. The company has about a half dozen employees and outsources project work to consultants and contractors. It plans to add about 22-25 people this year.
“Their support provides the capital and credibility we need to scale quickly while continuing to deliver on the evolving needs of our customers,” McBride said of the capital infusion.
AGC Says Atmosphere Uniquely Positioned
“The demand for AI-optimized, high-performance digital infrastructure continues to accelerate, and we believe Atmosphere is uniquely positioned to meet that demand through its combination of market insight, development capability and strategic vision,” Edward Talbot, a managing director at AGC said in the Aug. 19 statement announcing the funding.
“We look forward to supporting the team as they scale the platform nationally.”
With an emphasis on sustainability, power efficiency and location intelligence, the company supports the rapidly growing workloads driven by artificial intelligence, cloud computing and enterprise digital transformation.
Through a disciplined approach to development and a commitment to sustainability and customer performance, privately held Atmosphere supports the critical digital needs of hyperscalers, enterprises and service providers.
