Data Center Funding Surge: From Shoe Company Pivot to $740M India JV

Data center capacity and funding are surging as companies from shoe makers to drone operators pivot to AI infrastructure. In the past week, former shoe company Allbirds rebranded as Smartbird, Hydra Host raised $100 million in Series A funding, Canada's CPP Investments formed a joint venture with Indian data center firm CtrlS, and drone company VisionWave announced plans for an underground facility in Israel.

Smartbird, formerly Allbirds, saw its shares jump 582 percent in April after announcing its pivot to AI compute, reaching a $148 million market cap. The company has now appointed Nadia Carlsten, former head of product for the AWS Center for Quantum Computing, as CEO. Carlsten also led the deployment of the Nvidia supercomputer Gefion at the Danish Centre for AI Innovation.

Hydra Host and CPP Investments Lead Funding Rounds

Hydra Host closed a $100 million Series A round to expand global AI capacity. The company did not disclose its valuation but said the funds will be used to build out infrastructure in multiple regions. Separately, Canada's CPP Investments committed up to $740.8 million to a joint venture with Indian data center operator CtrlS. The investment will fund the development of new facilities in India, a market experiencing rapid cloud and AI adoption.

• Smartbird increased its convertible financing facility from $50 million to $100 million.
• Hydra Host's Series A is one of the largest in the data center sector this year.
• CPP Investments' CtrlS JV targets India's growing demand for hyperscale capacity.
• VisionWave's underground facility in Israel will have 10.5 MW of capacity.

Implications for AI Infrastructure and Market Dynamics

The influx of capital from non-traditional players signals a broader trend: companies are repurposing assets and raising funds to meet AI workload demand. Smartbird's pivot from footwear to cloud computing illustrates the urgency. Flexential CEO Ryan Mallory, in a recent interview, noted that his company has ambitious growth plans and emphasized the importance of being a good neighbor amid expansion. The market is also seeing new entrants like VisionWave, a drone company, moving into data center development.

What comes next is likely more consolidation and specialization. Smartbird aims to offer enterprise-grade AI infrastructure without the capital burden of hardware ownership. Hydra Host will compete with established colocation providers. CPP Investments' move into India reflects a broader trend of pension funds seeking stable returns from digital infrastructure. As AI workloads grow, the data center sector will continue to attract diverse capital sources, from former shoe companies to sovereign wealth funds.