The Kobeissi Letter, a leading market commentary platform, has declared that the United States is in the midst of a modern-day gold rush fueled by artificial intelligence. The explosion in data center construction is not only reshaping commercial real estate but could redefine global power markets.
Data Centers: America Dominates Globally
According to a thread posted on X, the U.S. now boasts 5,426 data centers, surpassing the combined total of all other major nations. The value of active construction projects has surged to $40 billion, a 400% increase since 2022. For the first time in history, the total value of data center projects is expected to exceed that of office buildings in the U.S., marking a historic shift in commercial property.
Since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in late 2022, the value of active U.S. data center projects has tripled from $12 billion to $40 billion. The Kobeissi Letter describes this as a “modern-day gold rush,” comparing it to historic waves of industrial expansion.
Power Demand: A Looming Crisis
The rapid construction pace is exacerbating a supply-demand imbalance in energy. Citing Morgan Stanley projections, the report warns of a 36-gigawatt shortfall across the U.S. grid over the next three years. By 2030, U.S. data center energy consumption is expected to account for 8.1% of national power demand, up from 3.9% in 2023.
Electricity prices have already risen 23% since ChatGPT’s release and 40% since 2020, far outpacing broader inflation. “Without far more electricity, the AI revolution simply cannot happen,” the Kobeissi team wrote.
Global Competition: China Leads in Nuclear, U.S. Lags
While the U.S. leads in data center count, China builds larger facilities. China operates roughly 449 data centers, but their average size is significantly bigger. More critically, China has 29 large nuclear reactors under construction, while the U.S. has none. The Kobeissi Letter notes that China is gaining an edge in the global energy race through nuclear power expansion.
The Next Big Investment: Power
Big Tech is pouring money into infrastructure. Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and OpenAI have collectively pledged $800 billion for new data centers in 2025. But the Kobeissi Letter argues that the next great investment theme is not chips or models—it’s power. “Power will soon become the most valuable commodity in the world,” the report concludes. As AI deployment accelerates, the bottleneck will shift from computing to electricity, making energy infrastructure the critical enabler of the AI era.