There is no single 'Australian data centre market': six distinct segments share one power grid
Six segments share one power grid: retail colocation, wholesale colocation, hyperscale leased, hyperscale self-build, edge, and the AI-factory operators that emerged in 2025-26. The segment boundary decides which facilities a market estimate counts.
Working taxonomy · segments 1-3 of 6
| Segment | Definition | Typical players |
|---|---|---|
| Retail colocation | Rack/cage/suite, <1 MW per customer, carrier-neutral, interconnection-rich | Equinix, NEXTDC metro, Macquarie DC, DigiCo SYD1 |
| Wholesale colocation | 1-10+ MW dedicated halls, longer leases | NEXTDC S/M-series, CDC, AirTrunk smaller commitments |
| Hyperscale leased | Purpose-built campuses, 20-500+ MW commitments | AirTrunk, CDC, NEXTDC S4/S7, Stack, Goodman |
inashanu's working taxonomy follows how capital actually deploys, from a single rack to a gigawatt campus:
- Single rack Retail colocation: under 1 MW per customer
- Dedicated hall Wholesale colocation: 1-10+ MW, longer leases
- Gigawatt campus Hyperscale leased: 20-500+ MW commitments
IMARC revenue segmentation, 2025 · by component
IMARC revenue segmentation, 2025 · by type
| Item | Value (%) |
|---|---|
| Hyperscale | 41.6 |
| Colocation | 33.4 |
| Edge | 16.8 |
| Other | 8.2 |
The same facility can be 'in the market' for one research house and invisible to another
Working taxonomy · segments 4-6 of 6
| Segment | Definition | Typical players |
|---|---|---|
| Hyperscale self-build | Owner-operated cloud/AI facilities, often excluded from 'market' numbers | Microsoft (Truganina), AWS (Eastern Creek ~80 MW est.) |
| Edge | Smaller metro/regional facilities; 16.8% of revenue, fastest-growing | Telstra legacy, regional operators |
| AI factories / neocloud | GPU-dense, liquid-cooled, GPU-cloud operators (2025-26 emergence) | Firmus Southgate, ResetData AI-F1, Sharon AI @ M3 |
Why taxonomy matters commercially
Hyperscaler self-builds alone explain much of the spread between capacity estimates, and all revenue houses miss the landlord economics of powered-shell deals.
Facility census
Facility census. Source: IMARC (2026); ResearchAndMarkets via Business Wire (5 Dec 2025); Rod Terry/LinkedIn (Jul 2026); M3 Property (Nov 2025); EcoGPT (Apr 2026); DCD (9 Feb 2026). As at 21 Sep 2026.
- Dec 2025
- 145 existing and 48 upcoming data centres across 26+ cities (ResearchAndMarkets portfolio database)
- Mid-2026
- Broader counts put 250-256 operational facilities nationally, with 78 in active development
How IMARC cuts the market
How IMARC cuts the market. Source: IMARC (2026); ResearchAndMarkets via Business Wire (5 Dec 2025); Rod Terry/LinkedIn (Jul 2026); M3 Property (Nov 2025); EcoGPT (Apr 2026); DCD (9 Feb 2026). As at 21 Sep 2026.
- By component
- Solution 63.8% / services 36.2%
- By type
- Hyperscale 41.6% / colocation 33.4% / edge 16.8% / other 8.2%
- Also by
- Enterprise size and end user
Facilities counted, by source and vintage
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Operational, broader count (mid-2026) | 250 |
| Existing, R&M portfolio database (Dec 2025) | 145 |
| In active development (mid-2026) | 78 |
| Upcoming, R&M portfolio database (Dec 2025) | 48 |
Broader operational count is a 250-256 range; the bar plots its low end. Navy = facilities operating or existing; grey = pipeline.
Sources
- IMARC, as at 2026
- ResearchAndMarkets via Business Wire, as at 5 Dec 2025
- Rod Terry/LinkedIn, as at Jul 2026
- M3 Property, as at Nov 2025
- EcoGPT, as at Apr 2026
- DCD, as at 9 Feb 2026
Related
- Why do Australian data centre market size estimates differ so much?
- Does Australia have 1.35 GW or 2 GW of data centre capacity?
- What is happening in the Australian data centre market?
The full primer is published as an 85-page PDF (download) with the underlying market model as a workbook (download).
This page is one of 30 in Australian data centres: the research, indexed by the question each one answers, with the four pages where the published sources disagree set first.
The research is published by inashanu, a studio that produces fixed-scope market research for Australian private equity, priced and dated before work starts. The sample engagement is this primer in full.
This standard, on your question. Six fixed-price deliverables, A$14,000 to A$45,000 excluding GST, opening at the A$14,000 market map in 10 business days. State the decision and the date it has to be made; the written assessment of whether the evidence base will carry it follows within two business days and carries no charge. Request a brief assessment · the catalogue and its prices.