TERRANOVA Bets Big on AI-Ready Hyperscale in Latin America

Latin America is about to get a new hyperscale data center heavyweight. TERRANOVA, a platform backed by Actis (now part of General Atlantic), has been launched in São Paulo with a US$1.5 billion plan to build AI-ready data center campuses across Brazil, Mexico, and Chile.

As cloud providers, fintechs, and AI startups in the region scramble for high-density, low-latency infrastructure, TERRANOVA is positioning itself as a purpose-built answer to that demand rather than a retrofitted legacy footprint.

The company’s initial roadmap targets some of Latin America’s fastest-growing digital hubs. Its first hyperscale campus, in the Querétaro region of Mexico, is slated to come online in early 2026. Additional sites in Campinas, Brazil, and key locations in Chile are planned through 2027 and 2028. With land and power already secured across multiple sites, TERRANOVA says it is preparing for up to 1 gigawatt of potential future deployment capacity, aimed squarely at AI training, inference, and other compute-intensive workloads.

This build-out comes as the region enters a new phase of digital acceleration. Cloud operators and enterprises are no longer mainly focused on basic migration and virtualization; instead, they are looking at GPU-heavy AI clusters, real-time analytics, and data-intensive services that must sit closer to users and regulated data sources. These workloads place very different demands on infrastructure design, particularly around rack density, cooling, power availability, and network integration.

TERRANOVA’s campuses are therefore being designed from the ground up for high-density operation and long-term scalability. The company emphasizes high-efficiency power and cooling systems, sustainable and low-carbon design principles, and the physical and electrical headroom to host AI-grade densities over time. The intent is to create facilities that can support successive generations of GPU and accelerator hardware without major redesigns, giving hyperscalers and regional cloud providers a stable long-term platform.

Connectivity is another core design pillar. The campuses are planned with links into regional and international networks so that customers can interconnect with global cloud regions, content platforms, and partner ecosystems while keeping latency low for local users. For financial institutions, digital-native enterprises, and regulated industries, this mix of local presence and strong cross-border connectivity is becoming a prerequisite for modernizing critical systems and delivering AI-driven services.

Sustainability sits prominently in TERRANOVA’s pitch. While detailed metrics are not yet public, the platform positions itself as integrating energy-efficient technologies and low-carbon approaches into its core architecture from the outset. That is increasingly important as hyperscale operators face tighter scrutiny on emissions and energy use, and as governments across Latin America begin to align digital expansion with climate and ESG commitments.

Behind TERRANOVA is a broader investment thesis shared by Actis and General Atlantic: that digital infrastructure in growth markets must scale in lockstep with energy and environmental realities. Actis brings longstanding experience in power and infrastructure assets, while both backers see data centers as critical enablers of broader economic digitalization. TERRANOVA is not framed as a one-off campus developer but as a long-term platform designed to evolve alongside regulation, technology, and demand.

For cloud and AI operators evaluating Latin America, the emergence of a new hyperscale player with a clear AI-ready design offers an additional strategic option beyond entrenched incumbents. For local enterprises and public sector organizations, it signals that the region is likely to see more competition and capacity in markets like Querétaro and Campinas, which have already started to attract attention as data center and connectivity hubs.

As construction on the first campus moves ahead and new sites are planned, TERRANOVA’s progress will be a bellwether for how quickly Latin America can add the infrastructure needed to support the next wave of AI and digital services - and whether that growth can be aligned with sustainability and regional control over data.

Executive Insights FAQ

Why is TERRANOVA entering the Latin American market now?

Because AI, cloud, and data-intensive workloads in the region are growing faster than existing hyperscale capacity, creating demand for new, AI-optimized campuses close to major user and data hubs.

What makes TERRANOVA’s campuses different from traditional data centers in the region?

They are being designed specifically for high-density, AI-grade workloads, with a focus on high-efficiency power and cooling, sustainable design, and scalable power and space envelopes for future growth.

Why are Querétaro and Campinas key locations in the initial build-out?

Both are emerging as regional infrastructure hubs with growing network ecosystems, access to power, and proximity to large demand centers, making them attractive landing zones for global cloud and AI operators.

How does sustainability factor into TERRANOVA’s strategy?

Energy efficiency and low-carbon design are built into the core architecture of the campuses, aligning with the ESG priorities of global cloud customers and the climate commitments of host countries.

What should enterprises and cloud providers see in TERRANOVA strategically?

A potential long-term partner for deploying AI and cloud workloads in Latin America, offering hyperscale capacity, AI-ready engineering, and alignment with regional data locality and sustainability requirements.