Data centres: Value chain
From chip foundries to hyperscalers: who powers the cloud
What this tab covers Who does what, from equipment makers to builders, owners, operators, traders and users, with the leading companies at each step.The data centre chain runs from chip designers and foundries, through server builders and power and cooling suppliers, to developers and operators, and finally to cloud and AI customers. Global data centre investment reached about half a trillion dollars in 2024.
The chain
Chips Servers Power and cooling equipment Developers, operators and hyperscalers Electricity suppliers and end users| Stage | What happens | Leading companies |
|---|---|---|
| Chips | Designers of CPUs and AI accelerators, memory makers and the foundries that make the chips. Nvidia led 2025 semiconductor revenue (USD 125.7 billion); TSMC had 72.5% of foundry revenue in Q2 2026. | Nvidia (United States) SK hynix (Korea) Intel (United States) Broadcom (United States) AMD (United States) TSMC (Taiwan)1314 |
| Servers | Server revenue was USD 112.4 billion in Q3 2025, up 61%. Original design manufacturers (ODMs) selling direct to hyperscalers took 59.4%; branded leaders are listed by share. | Dell Technologies (United States), 8.3% Supermicro (United States), 4.0% IEIT Systems (China), 3.7% Lenovo (China), 3.6% HPE (United States), 3.0%9 |
| Power and cooling equipment | UPS systems, switchgear, busway, chillers, coolant distribution units and backup generators. Schneider Electric and Vertiv were virtually tied for the lead in data centre physical infrastructure in Q1 2025. | Schneider Electric (France) Vertiv (United States) Eaton (Ireland and United States) Legrand (France) Siemens (Germany)15 |
| Developers, operators and hyperscalers | Firms that build and run facilities, either renting space and power (colocation) or using them for their own clouds. Amazon, Microsoft and Google held 58% of hyperscale capacity at the end of 2025. The United States used 45% of data centre electricity in 2024, China 25% and Europe 15%. | Amazon Web Services (United States) Microsoft (United States) Google (United States) Meta (United States) Equinix (United States) Digital Realty (United States)11617 |
| Electricity suppliers and end users | Utilities and power developers supply the load; businesses and consumers use the cloud and AI services. Data centres used about 415 TWh in 2024, about 1.5% of world electricity. | 1 |
Sources
- Energy and AI (World Energy Outlook special report) IEA, 2025
- Worldwide server market revenue increased 61% during the third quarter of 2025 IDC, 2025
- Gartner says worldwide semiconductor revenue grew 21% in 2025 Gartner, 2026
- Foundry revenue ranking, 2Q26 TrendForce, 2026
- Data center physical infrastructure grew 17 percent Y/Y in 1Q 2025 Dell'Oro Group, 2025
- Hyperscale spending spree is driving dramatic growth in data center capacity Synergy Research Group, 2025
- Colocation Market Tracker (top ranked companies) Synergy Research Group, 2026