The Definitive Guide toAI Data Centers
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Guide › Glossary › TCO

TCO · Total Cost of Ownership

The full lifetime cost of capacity, including capex amortization, power, cooling, staff and maintenance.

The all-in cost of running infrastructure over its life, not just the purchase price.

Also written as: Total Cost of Ownership

Current numbers

~$38B / ~$8.5B/yr1 GW AI data center: ~$38B up-front capex (servers ~$21.2/W incl. GPUs · facility ~$11.4/W · network ~$4.9/W, Epoch May-2026) and ~$8.5B/yr all-in TCOas of 2026-05 · register ↗

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