Source: Fortune
Summary
CBRE, the world’s largest commercial real estate services firm, is transforming its business to meet the growing demand for data centers driven by the AI boom. The company has secured dozens of potential data center sites and is working with major tech companies on land entitlements, power, and water access. CBRE’s revenue has jumped 19% year over year, with infrastructure-related revenue reaching $3 billion in 2025. The company expects its data center-related services to continue growing alongside the broader AI infrastructure market.
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The strategy enters a familiar phase.
CBRE’s move into data centers is a strategic growth area, with the company generating over $3 billion in infrastructure-related revenue in 2025. The company’s data center leasing revenue more than tripled year-over-year in the first quarter. CBRE’s CEO Bob Sulentic says the shift is “going to be at least as profound as our move into outsourcing in the 1990s and early 2000s, and much faster.” The company is investing in data center development and has created a dedicated “critical infrastructure services” unit. Sulentic notes that finding enough qualified technical labor is a major challenge. The company is working to address this shortage through training programs and partnerships with hyperscalers like Meta.
CBRE is navigating the growing pains of the AI infrastructure boom, from labor shortages to community pushback.
Author: Evan Null
