How is growing investor scrutiny, alongside higher interest rates and rising AI infrastructure costs, reshaping the data center IPO market, and why is Singapore based DayOne pursuing a possible November U.S. listing while SoftBank backed SB Energy has delayed its offering? In com

The data-center IPO market is shifting from rewarding ambitious AI build-out plans to testing whether companies can finance construction, secure power, deliver capacity and turn leases into revenue. Higher interest rates make that gap more expensive to bridge. DayOne is pursuing a possible November U.S. debut despite the tougher market; SB Energy has delayed its offering amid questions about a reported $50 billion-plus valuation and dependence on a narrow customer base.13

• DayOne’s case: The Singapore-based operator is reportedly considering raising up to $5 billion at a valuation around $20 billion. Its pitch is an existing data-center business with a geographic reach beyond one U.S. construction program, making operating capacity and near-term customer demand central to the offering. But the proposed timing and price are not settled, and investors still need to distinguish facilities already serving customers from planned capacity—and verify how much future demand has both contracts and secured power behind it.1
• SB Energy’s case: SoftBank’s backing and long-term leases with SoftBank and OpenAI support a reported roughly $439 billion backlog and 8.8 gigawatts of contracted data-center capacity across U.S. projects, including Texas and Ohio. Neither figure means the facilities are operating: SB Energy had no operational data centers, while its approximately $139 million of first-half 2026 revenue came from its existing energy business. That mismatch between a $50 billion-plus proposed valuation and current data-center revenue, compounded by customer concentration, helps explain the delay.36710
• What investors are pricing: Secured electricity and contracted tenants improve the credibility of planned capacity, but contracts alone cannot eliminate construction delays, financing costs or the risk that revenue arrives years later. SB Energy illustrates why a very large backlog may inspire less confidence than smaller capacity already operating and earning revenue; DayOne’s eventual valuation will depend on how convincingly it documents that distinction.167
• The wider warning: Oracle issued a force-majeure notice concerning Blue Owl’s New Mexico project amid potential power-related delays; the project could slip by about a year. It shows how a setback can disrupt even a large, customer-linked financing plan. Possible offerings from Switch, Vantage Data Centers and CyrusOne therefore suggest a substantial IPO pipeline, not an assured open market: each would face closer examination of power, construction progress, customers and cash-flow timing.189