Kaufman & Company, a Los Angeles-based private investment firm, has begun construction on two hyperscale data centers in Utah and Texas, utilizing a proprietary geodesic dome design that aims to address the most pressing concerns about AI infrastructure: water consumption and power supply. The projects, located outside Salt Lake City and in El Paso, mark the company's entry into large-scale AI infrastructure development.
The geodesic dome structure is specifically engineered for AI workloads. Its curved, column-free interior promotes natural convection, reducing the need for traditional chiller plants, while a hybrid air and direct liquid immersion cooling system cuts water use by approximately 90% compared to conventional data centers. The design also requires about 30% less structural material than standard rectangular buildings.
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 advantage over the multi-year substation queues typical of hyperscale builds. Each dome draws up to 90% of its power from behind-the-meter sources rather than the grid. In Utah, that power comes from rooftop solar; 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.
Daniel Kaufman, founder of Kaufman & Company, emphasized the importance of addressing community 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. 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."
The El Paso project sits on roughly 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 in early conversations to bring the same model to Louisiana, Oklahoma, North and South Dakota, as well as international markets including India, Europe, and Canada.
"In Utah, the community saw the server dome, and it changed the whole conversation," Kaufman said. "Drive through that area, and you see traditional data centers that are just big boxes. This is not blight, it is something we hope will be beautiful."
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.
Kaufman has named Ryan Wallace, Managing Director of Server Dome Global, 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 data center development experience. David Jackson, President, and Bradley Blewett, CFO, round out the leadership team. Kaufman & Company is pursuing LEED Platinum certification for the server dome facilities.
