The new advantage in the age of AI: Building in the real world
Executive Take
Data center buildouts and AI infrastructure plans will live or die on permitting, grid capacity, and construction timelines capabilities most tech and HR leaders have never had to manage in-house.
Executive Summary
Laura Hines-Pierce, co-CEO of real estate firm Hines, argues in a McKinsey interview that AI's growth is increasingly constrained by physical infrastructure housing, power, and construction capacity rather than capital. She contends execution on real-world building projects, not access to funding, will determine which companies capture value in the AI era.
Why It Matters
Technology and GCC leaders planning AI infrastructure or new campus buildouts need to treat power and real estate availability as a core strategic constraint, not a back-office logistics detail.
Bizquad Perspective
The bottleneck framing is right, but it will push more tech companies toward direct investment in power generation and real estate rather than relying on third-party developers like Hines to keep pace.