Australia’s first sovereign AI data center launches in 2026 via Dell-Macquarie deal

Macquarie Data Centres, part of the Macquarie Technology Group, and Dell Technologies are partnering to establish Australia’s first sovereign AI infrastructure facility, combining Dell’s AI technology with locally-operated data center infrastructure. The initiative addresses growing concerns about Australia’s lack of investment in domestic AI capabilities, which experts warn poses national security and economic risks in an increasingly competitive global AI landscape.

What you should know: The Dell AI Factory with Nvidia will be hosted in Macquarie’s purpose-built IC3 Super West data center, a 47MW facility designed specifically for high-power AI workloads.

• The facility is scheduled for completion in mid-2026 and already has its full power allocation secured.
• It will support enterprise AI, private AI, and cloud-based projects across healthcare, finance, education, and research sectors.
• The platform will provide capacity for advanced applications including AI digital twins, agentic AI, and private large language models.

The big picture: Australia faces mounting pressure to develop sovereign AI infrastructure as other developed nations commit billions to domestic AI capabilities.

• Unlike South Korea, Japan, the U.S., and EU members, Australia has yet to commit federal funding to national compute facilities or dedicated AI data centers.
• Taiwan has committed over AUD10 billion ($6.5 billion) to AI development, highlighting the scale of investment other nations are making.

Why this matters: The project aligns with the Australian Government’s “Future Made in Australia” agenda, which links AI and data infrastructure to economic productivity targets.

• Over-reliance on foreign tech companies leaves Australia vulnerable in the current geopolitical context, according to experts.
• The initiative aims to help local organizations deploy AI while meeting national data security and regulatory requirements.

What they’re saying: Industry leaders emphasize the strategic importance of domestic AI infrastructure for national security and economic competitiveness.

• “For Australia’s AI-driven future to be secure, we must ensure that Australian data centres play a core role in AI, data, infrastructure, and operations,” said David Hirst, CEO at Macquarie Data Centers.
• Jamie Humphrey, Dell’s general manager for Australia and New Zealand, stated the companies “are enabling organizations to develop and deploy AI as a transformative and competitive advantage in Australia in a way that is secure, sovereign, and scalable.”
• Sue Keay, director of the UNSW AI Institute and founder of Robotics Australia Group, warned that “Australia’s ‘relentless determination’ not to invest in sovereign AI infrastructure is clearly a strategic risk that will undermine national security, economic prosperity and create challenges for our society.”

Key details: The facility will be located at Macquarie’s third and largest data center on the Macquarie Park Data Center Campus in Sydney’s North Zone.

• Macquarie Data Centers operates two campuses in Sydney plus facilities in Canberra.
• The company’s long-term development plan is designed to scale infrastructure in line with national AI demand over the next decade.
• Macquarie initially announced plans for IC3 Super West in January 2024.