Kaufman & Company, a Los Angeles-based private investment and holding firm, has begun construction on two hyperscale data center projects featuring a proprietary geodesic dome design, marking its entry into large-scale AI infrastructure. The sites, located outside Salt Lake City, Utah, and in El Paso, Texas, are designed to address two of the most pressing issues in AI infrastructure: power consumption and water usage.
The dome structure, engineered specifically for AI workloads, uses a curved, column-free interior to create a natural convection current, reducing the need for traditional chiller plants. A hybrid air and direct liquid immersion cooling system cuts water use by roughly 90% compared to conventional data centers. Additionally, the geodesic shape requires about 30% less structural material than a standard rectangular shell, making it more efficient and environmentally friendly.
These facilities can scale in increments from 10 to 20 megawatts, up to 50 to 100 megawatts, and can be brought online in as little as 12 months, a significant improvement over the multi-year substation queues typical of hyperscale builds. This speed to market is crucial for meeting the rapid demand for AI computing power.
Daniel Kaufman, founder of Kaufman & Company, emphasized the importance of addressing community and environmental concerns. “The issues of power, water, appearance and jobs are real, impactful concerns, and we were seeing them in our own projects and across the industry,” he said. “The geometry is what makes this exciting. It is a dome with a green roof that blends into the landscape rather than another lit box stretching for miles.”
Each dome draws up to 90% of its power from behind-the-meter sources rather than the grid. In Utah, this power comes from rooftop solar, while in El Paso, the company is developing its own geothermal generation, producing enough capacity to supply outside users in addition to the facility itself. The green roof also collects water used for cooling, meeting an estimated 90% of each site’s cooling needs.
The El Paso project sits on approximately 24,000 acres of formerly idle ranch and oil and gas land near the U.S. border. Phase one already has tenants secured, and Kaufman & Company expects to build as many as ten additional domes on the site over the next decade. The company is also in early conversations to expand to Louisiana, Oklahoma, North and South Dakota, as well as international markets including India, Europe, and Canada.
Given the scale of hyperscale data center development, which runs well beyond Kaufman & Company’s typical self-funded model, the company has brought in outside capital and infrastructure partners for the first time, including Meta, Google, Oracle, Microsoft, AT&T, Zayo, Fiberlight, and Aurelia, along with institutional lenders and government agencies. This collaboration underscores the strategic importance of these projects.
Kaufman has named Server Dome Global’s Managing Director, Ryan Wallace, to lead the company’s data center initiative, supported by a team including David Keegan, CEO and a data center industry leader with 40 million square feet of development experience, David Jackson as President, and Bradley Blewett as CFO. This leadership team brings extensive expertise to the venture.
The move allows Kaufman to shift his personal focus to Oldivai’s workforce housing projects, Mr. Good Container Homes, and a small slate of special projects, including a boutique hotel conversion in Rumford, Maine. Kaufman & Company is pursuing LEED Platinum certification for the server dome facilities, highlighting its commitment to sustainability.
This innovative approach could set a new standard for data center construction, potentially influencing how the industry addresses environmental and community concerns while meeting the growing demand for AI infrastructure.
