# QTS Data Centers One of the largest data center operators in the United States, with mega-scale campuses in Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta, Chicago, Richmond (Virginia), and Phoenix. Originally founded as QTS Realty Trust and publicly traded as a REIT, the company was acquired by [[Blackstone]] in September 2021 for approximately $10B in an all-cash transaction — one of the largest data center deals in history at the time — and taken private. ## Blackstone Infrastructure Empire The Blackstone acquisition made QTS a cornerstone of the firm's infrastructure portfolio. Blackstone has since used QTS as a platform to scale aggressively into the AI data center buildout, deploying billions in expansion capital across QTS campuses. The private equity structure allows QTS to move faster than publicly traded competitors on large-scale builds without quarterly earnings pressure. ## Lancium Partnership In July 2026, QTS and [[Lancium]] announced a joint data center campus in Hall County, Texas, expected to bring more than $10B in capital investment. QTS will design, build, and operate up to 11 data center buildings across 465 acres on Lancium's Clean Campus near Turkey, Texas. The project targets up to 1 GW of capacity and is expected to create approximately 7,000 construction jobs at peak and 350 permanent positions. The deal underscores how [[Blackstone]]'s portfolio companies are cross-pollinating — Blackstone is also a major backer of [[Lancium]]. ## KB Relevance QTS illustrates the private equity playbook for AI infrastructure: take a public REIT private, eliminate quarterly scrutiny, and deploy capital at a pace that matches the urgency of [[The Quest for 90 Gigawatts]]. The [[Blackstone]] connection makes QTS relevant as part of the broader story of how private capital — not utilities or government — is building the physical layer of the AI economy. ## See Also - [[Blackstone]] - [[Lancium]] - [[The Quest for 90 Gigawatts]] - [[Artificial Intelligence]]