LightHouse Data Centers and Wharton Digital Launch Strategic Hyperscale Platform Delivering in Excess of 2 GW of Capacity
Led by 2 Former Senior Executives at Amazon Web Services, Platform Launches to Close the Data Center Supply Gap for Hyperscale, AI, and Cloud Customers
NEW YORK, Jan. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- LightHouse Data Centers ("LightHouse"), a next-generation turnkey data center developer and operator, and Wharton Digital, an investment vehicle of Wharton Equity Partners ("Wharton"), today announced the launch of a fully integrated platform to develop, own, and operate hyperscale data centers across North America.
The partnership combines LightHouse's deep hyperscale development, leasing, and operational expertise with Wharton's institutional capital and four decades of real estate experience. Together, the platform is positioned to deliver in excess of 2 gigawatts (GW) of capacity to solve accelerating demand from hyperscale, AI, and cloud customers amid industry-wide supply constraints.
As part of the transaction, Wharton has made an investment in LightHouse and contributed its powered land business and related properties to the platform, creating a robust development pipeline with a long-term runway spanning both hyperscale campuses and major metro infill sites. Peter C. Lewis, Founder of Wharton Equity Partners, has been appointed Chairman of LightHouse. Supported by this investment, LightHouse is actively ramping up the company's corporate growth and pipeline expansion.
Today, LightHouse now has approximately 300 megawatts (MW) of near-term power capacity and more than 2 GW in active development across key growth markets in the Southeast, Southwest, and Midwest, as well as targeted infill locations near major metropolitan areas. LightHouse plans on delivering multiple data center campuses in late 2026 and early 2027, each with significant follow-on power capacity, delivering on the company's strategy of providing both speed and scale for its customers.
LightHouse facilities are purpose-built for next-generation, high-density AI workloads, including the latest liquid-cooled architectures, while supporting traditional hyperscaler core services. The platform's modular design framework, strong OEM partnerships, and disciplined operations enable rapid delivery while maintaining the highest standards of resilience, efficiency, and mission-critical performance. Each site is tailored to local requirements and designed to optimize resource use in support of community needs and customers' long-term sustainability objectives.
"We are excited to join forces with Wharton to build a premier data center platform at a time of unprecedented demand," said Nick Etscheid, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of LightHouse. "Wharton immediately understood the scale of what we are building, and this partnership allows us to accelerate delivery of next-generation infrastructure precisely when the market needs it."
"We are seeing unprecedented demand for capacity in 2026 and 2027," said Ben Basson, co-founder and Chief Development Officer of LightHouse. "Given our team's experience leading major AWS region expansions and launching gigawatt-scale campuses, our team is uniquely positioned to deliver large-scale capacity on accelerated timelines for our customers."
"We are in the very early stages of one of the greatest paradigm shifts our world has ever seen and I am excited to join Nick and Ben's vision to build something special and differentiated in delivering the infrastructure needed to support our digital economy," said Peter C. Lewis, Chairman of Wharton and LightHouse.
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About LightHouse Data Centers
LightHouse Data Centers is a turnkey data center company focused on designing, developing, leasing, and operating hyperscale data center capacity across North America. Co-founders Nick Etscheid and Ben Basson previously spent nearly a decade delivering $10B+ in data center projects spanning gigawatts and thousands of acres while at Amazon Web Services and a prior turnkey data center provider. LightHouse provides institutional-grade execution with the speed, scale, and precision required to meet the demands of AI and cloud hyperscalers.
About Wharton Digital
Wharton Digital is a platform business of Wharton Equity Partners, a real estate and private equity investment firm based in New York, City. Founded in 1987, Wharton and affiliates have been involved with over $5 billion of transactions. Wharton Digital invests across real estate, private equity, and venture capital with a common focus on opportunities that are being materially shaped by the rapid advancement and adoption of artificial intelligence.
SOURCE WHARTON EQUITY PARTNERS
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