Global AI Set to Develop Data Center Outside Denver, Colorado

Why It Matters

The venture marks a major expansion of U.S. AI compute capacity, reshaping regional energy demand and economic growth.

Key Takeaways

• 438-acre site purchased for $15.6 million near Windsor
• First phase targets 18‑24 MW, operational by year‑end
• Long‑term goal up to 1 GW, $2‑20 B investment
• Partnership with Saudi firm Humain drives AI compute growth
• Expansion will pressure local power grid and infrastructure

Pulse Analysis

The race to build massive AI‑focused data centers is accelerating across the United States, and Global AI’s project in Weld County, Colorado, exemplifies that momentum. After acquiring three parcels totaling 438 acres for $15.6 million, the company will convert a former Kodak‑Carestream complex into a high‑density compute hub. Partnering with Saudi AI specialist Humain, Global AI aims to launch an 18‑24 MW facility by year‑end 2026, building on experience from its 32 MW Endicott, New York site. The venture places AI workloads nearer western power grids and emerging talent pools.

Scaling the site to a potential 1 GW will demand $2‑20 billion in capital and substantial electricity. The industrial park already hosts Xcel Energy and Poudre Valley Rural Electric Association, allowing Global AI to negotiate dedicated transmission upgrades or on‑site generation. This power intensity strains the regional grid but also opens avenues for renewable integration and demand‑response services. Local economies stand to gain construction jobs, permanent technical roles, and ancillary business growth in Windsor and surrounding areas.

Globally, the Colorado development highlights a growing trend of cross‑border partnerships shaping AI infrastructure. Humain’s Saudi capital and expertise may accelerate technology transfer and diversify the supply chain for Nvidia GPUs and custom ASICs. As hyperscale giants like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon expand, independent operators such as Global AI must differentiate through strategic site selection, flexible power arrangements, and collaborative ventures that unlock new revenue streams. If successful, this project could become a template for future AI data centers in regions offering ample land, favorable regulation, and reliable power.

Global AI set to develop data center outside Denver, Colorado

Company could launch first phase later this year at former Kodak site · February 09, 2026 · Dan Swinhoe

Global AI, a data‑center firm partnered with Saudi AI company Humain, is looking to develop a data center outside Denver, Colorado.

Global AI bought three parcels totaling 438 acres near Windsor in Weld County last year. The purchase, including land and former industrial buildings, was completed for $15.6 million in late November.

Image: site map (Google Maps)

BizJournals reports the company is now looking at developing the acquired site into a data center. Weld County planning director David Eisenbraun told BJ the company plans to build an operational data center by the end of this year and expand further in the future.

The company is set to gut one of the two existing buildings and develop the first phase of an 18‑24 MW facility this year. It initially aims to expand to 50‑60 MW, eventually taking the site up to a potential 1 GW.

Investment in the development could reportedly range from $2 billion to $20 billion depending on the final scale of the project. Expansion toward 1 GW would require additional transmission and/or generation capacity.

“They're building all what's available to the grid for Poudre Valley [Rural Electric Association] and then any future conversations, they're looking at other on‑site technologies to be able to basically create some of that delta that the power companies may not be able to provide,” Eisenbraun told BizJournal. “Where they're located is a fairly heavy industrial park already, where there's a lot of different power users. Both Xcel (Energy) and Powder Valley are there, and so there's future conversations to have depending on the demand.”

Windsor is a municipality about 60 miles north of Denver. The Global AI site, at 2000 Howard Smith Avenue West, previously hosted Carestream Health and was originally part of the larger Eastman Kodak campus.

Launched in the late 1960s, Kodak employed some 3,000 people at the campus at its peak in the 1970s and 80s. Carestream, a medical‑imaging company spun out from Kodak, closed its facility at the site in 2024 and put the property up for sale. Local developer Martin Lind purchased the Carestream site for $3.5 million in February 2025, in turn selling to Global AI later in the year.

Global AI currently operates a 32 MW facility in Endicott, New York. The company claims that the site, set across two buildings including 1701 North Street, is the largest cluster of Nvidia GB300s in New York.

Image: Nvidia hardware racks in the New York data center

The buildings were originally built by IBM, like much of Endicott’s industrial district. The village, in Broome County, is known as the birthplace of IBM.

Both of Global AI’s founders are also linked to IBM. Co‑founder John E. Kelly III was the creator of IBM’s Watson and spent nearly 40 years at the company. CEO Sami Issa founded a joint venture between Mubadala Development Company and IBM, and also founded W3bcloud, a cloud joint venture from AMD and Consensys that aimed to build blockchain‑based data centers for Web 3.

Global AI announced a partnership with Saudi AI firm Humain last year, with the latter set to deploy in the former’s facilities. The two firms then announced plans to develop “large‑scale AI data centers and compute capacity in the United States,” without providing details.

“Global AI continuously evaluates potential properties as part of its long‑term growth and expansion planning. The company owns property in Colorado, among other locations, and is assessing multiple sites across the United States in parallel. No final decisions have been made regarding future development or expansion locations,” said Raeda Al Sarayreh, a Global AI spokesperson.