The AI-driven data center investment surge has created a wave of opportunities, but investors are looking beyond AI-related assets. According to Sina Finance, capital has poured into data centers and AI-supporting infrastructure in recent years, while interest has shifted back to traditional assets such as landfills, rail freight hubs, regional airports, transportation logistics, aviation, waste and water infrastructure, road and bridge maintenance, and natural gas processing.

Partners Group infrastructure managing director Nicholas Pepper said the market is highly focused on digital infrastructure, leaving many high-quality mature assets in utilities, transportation, and social infrastructure with less attention. He said that gives the firm an opportunity to buy such assets at attractive valuations.

The article said Blackstone has expanded aggressively in AI across infrastructure, credit, private equity, and real estate. In October last year, a consortium led by Global Infrastructure Partners, a BlackRock company, completed the acquisition of Aligned Data Centers in what was then the largest data center sale on record.

Partners Group raised more than $15 billion for its fourth infrastructure fund in July and announced in August an initial $1 billion investment in European data center power services provider AVK Power Solutions.

At the same time, investors are becoming more cautious on AI-related assets because of construction delays, higher financing costs, and regulatory resistance. The article said those pressures have shown up in delayed data center IPOs, looser infrastructure debt covenants, and stalled AI construction projects.

BTG Capital founder and managing partner Brett Stevenson said the higher minimum investment thresholds at large U.S. asset managers keep them out of this niche market. BTG Capital has sold several power facilities to data centers, but most of its investments remain focused on logistics and energy utility assets unrelated to data centers.

The article also said large investors are moving into less popular infrastructure sectors. People familiar with the matter said Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, despite its data center exposure, is now looking at the waste disposal industry. It said U.S. waste companies typically trade at a premium, with enterprise value-to-EBITDA multiples of about 15 times versus 10 times for European peers.

R.L. Hulett said the median EBITDA multiple for industrial M&A deals in logistics and transportation fell to 5 times in the first quarter from 12.7 times in 2025.