AI market in data centers maintains high valuations: 15x multiples and deals worth billions

Despite the turbulence that shook the tech sector in early 2025, with significant drops in values like Nvidia and CoreWeave, the operational reality on Wall Street tells a completely different story. Multiples of 15 and higher remain the norm in data infrastructure transactions for artificial intelligence, according to conversations with banking investment professionals leading these negotiations. The sustained energy demand from Bitcoin miners and AI/HPC developers has kept billion-dollar agreements alive, challenging pessimistic forecasts of a supposed AI bubble.

Bitcoin’s price has stabilized around $78,610, while competition for megawatts of computational capacity continues to intensify. Data hosting company executives report solvent tenants willing to sign long-term contracts at competitive rates, even in contexts where analysts just months ago predicted a sector collapse.

Megawatt Transactions: Unprecedented Valuations in Energy Infrastructure

The figures speak for themselves. In recent negotiations, dollars per megawatt have reached between $400,000 and $550,000, with multiples of 15 or higher reflecting the scarcity of premium-quality capacity. In high-demand locations with optimal operational conditions, these multiples represent the valuation floor, not the exception.

For lower-quality assets or in less desirable markets, offers fall to a range of $100,000 to $250,000 per megawatt, reflecting discounts applied by buyers prioritizing energy access over site characteristics. However, even at these lower prices, sellers continue to find buyers.

A recent case illustrates the magnitude of this demand: a private seller of an energy infrastructure asset attracted interest from approximately 25 potential buyers who requested confidentiality agreements. Among them were Bitcoin miners, hyperscale tech companies, and AI developers, competing intensely for access to available megawatts.

Bitcoin Mining and AI Developers Compete for Critical Capacity

Bitcoin miners have undergone a strategic transformation. After Bitcoin’s halving in mid-2024, which cut rewards in half, these operators faced margin pressure even with prices near or above $100,000. The response was diversification, hosting AI hardware and high-performance computing (HPC) applications in their existing data centers.

This pivot has generated significant financial benefits. Miners who have migrated to HPC have accessed higher valuations and cheaper capital, while stocks of mining companies like Hut 8 soared up to 20% after announcing a 15-year lease contract worth approximately $7 billion with Fluidstack, providing 245 megawatts of computational capacity at their River Bend campus.

Demand comes from multiple directions simultaneously. Hyperscalers like Amazon are ramping up their investment in AI infrastructure. Specialized AI developers seek modular capacity that can be deployed quickly. Bitcoin miners maintain their historic energy demand. The result: a trilateral market where prices and multiples of 15 or more reflect the true scarcity of resources.

Opportunities in Underutilized Assets: From Industrial Heritage to the AI Ecosystem

An unexpected phenomenon is emerging in the market: old industrial assets, previously obsolete or underutilized, are transforming into energy infrastructure for AI and mining. A 160-year-old facility has found new life as an energy provider for data centers, with multiples of 15 justified by energy availability, regardless of local market limitations.

Companies with old offices are repurposing these spaces to rapidly build 30-megawatt modular units, seeking additional financing to expand capacity. In at least one documented case, a potential tenant agreed to pay rent upfront before project completion, tangible evidence of how scarce quality capacity remains in the market.

The universe of sellers is expanding beyond native cryptocurrency actors. Industrial asset owners see an opportunity to monetize underutilized energy, while multiples of 15 or other attractive ratios bridge the gap between expectations and operational realities.

2026 Outlook: Persistent Demand with No Signs of Cooling

Looking ahead to 2026, market fundamentals remain solid. Energy demand from Bitcoin miners continues to be “huge,” but demand from AI and HPC is “even greater,” according to analyses by banking investment experts with access to private negotiations.

Market checks reveal a consistent pattern: tenants are present, prices remain firm at multiples of 15 and higher, and available capacity finds occupants. If one client does not secure a specific site, another will, indicating sustained competition for finite resources.

The regulatory environment also favors these assets. With interest rates potentially declining, a risk-friendly environment is anticipated, typically boosting M&A transactions in infrastructure. Buyers maintain strong appetite for megawatts, while sellers experience attractive valuations.

The only realistic warning: if developers fail to lease what they build, or do not reach the necessary prices for viability, that would be the time to reevaluate. For now, that warning signal is not present in the market.

The business fundamentals remain intact. Energy and capacity demand in HPC data centers for AI continues unabated, solvent tenants occupy capacity at good rates, and multiples of 15 or higher remain the standard in quality transactions. AI operations, contrary to reports of their demise, remain fully relevant as of late January 2026.