The data center market is on fire and Poland is stepping in

A market that won’t slow down

Data centers have stopped being invisible background infrastructure and become one of the hottest segments of the digital economy. The global data center market was valued at roughly USD 270 billion in 2025 and is projected to grow to nearly USD 300 billion in 2026, surpassing USD 699 billion by 2034 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 11%. The scale of expansion is unprecedented: the industry is set to nearly double its capacity, adding around 97 GW between 2025 and 2030 to reach 200 GW of total power.

Why so hot? In one word: AI

The main catalyst is artificial intelligence. Training and running AI models demands enormous compute, which has translated into surging demand. The AI-specific data center market was valued at about USD 147 billion in 2025 and is expected to grow at roughly 24% per year. The consequences are visible in energy use: according to the International Energy Agency, data center electricity demand will double from 485 TWh in 2025 to around 945–950 TWh in 2030 – equivalent to Japan’s entire current power consumption. Consumption by AI-focused centers alone is set to triple.

Add to that cloud migration, the 5G rollout, streaming, and enterprise digitalization. Analysts estimate that by 2030 AI could account for half of all data center workloads, with the balance shifting from model training toward mass deployment (inference).

Poland – Central Europe’s new investment magnet

Increasingly, attention is turning to Poland. The national data center market, valued at around USD 1.3–1.9 billion in 2025, is set to nearly triple by 2031, growing at double-digit annual rates. In 2025, Poland attracted over USD 6 billion in AI infrastructure commitments from hyperscalers and enterprises, cementing its position as the region’s premier tech hub.

Microsoft announced roughly USD 700 million to expand cloud, AI, and cybersecurity infrastructure, building out the Azure Poland Central region – the first hyperscale cloud region in Central and Eastern Europe. Google, in turn, signed a strategic partnership with the Polish government covering AI, energy, and digital skills.

Poland’s advantages are concrete: a location between Western Europe and growing eastern markets, operating costs 40–60% lower than in Western Europe, a cooler climate that favors efficient cooling, and a grid operator that has already earmarked 1,200 MW of capacity for data centers by 2034. Warsaw, home to around 31 facilities and nearly 70% of national capacity has climbed to third among European cities of the future for investors, behind London and Dublin, while Kraków, Wrocław, Poznań, and Katowice rise alongside it.

Conclusion

The data center market is driven by an AI revolution that, in the coming years, is more likely to accelerate than to slow. In this global race, Poland is emerging as one of Europe’s most promising destinations – combining low costs, a favorable location, and strong backing from the biggest technology players.