Data centre demand is expected to outstrip supply through the end of this decade, primarily due to the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) usage, industry executives said. Challenges in power infrastructure, skilled talent, and capacity constraints are anticipated.Abhijit Dubey, Chief Executive Officer of NTT Data, highlighted skilled talent as a significant bottleneck. He noted that compensation for electricians, technicians, and design and construction professionals now exceeds that of most white-collar jobs. Dubey stated there is no shortage of demand for new data centres or capital to invest in the sector.Connor Teskey, Chief Executive Officer of Brookfield Asset Management, dismissed concerns that AI compute demand or supply chain for AI is fragile. He said the demand so overwhelms supply that a supply-demand imbalance will persist through this decade and beyond. Teskey’s remarks were made at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum 2026.Salil Parekh, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Infosys, raised concerns about the long-term utility of data centre capacity. He cited the high cost and intense competition for semiconductor chips as a risk. Parekh also pointed to potential social backlash against large-scale data centre build-outs, especially in Western markets, as another risk.Parekh noted that AI services are experiencing double-digit sequential growth. He projected that AI services are likely to account for almost half of Infosys’ work within two to three years.
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