Kaufman & Company, a Los Angeles-based private investment and holding firm, has begun construction on two hyperscale data center projects in Utah and Texas, utilizing a proprietary geodesic dome design. The sites, located outside Salt Lake City, Utah, and in El Paso, Texas, mark the company's entry into large-scale AI infrastructure. The dome structure is engineered specifically for AI workloads, featuring a curved, column-free interior that creates natural convection, reducing the need for traditional chiller plants. A hybrid air and direct liquid immersion cooling system cuts water use by roughly 90 percent compared with conventional data centers, while the geodesic shape requires about 30 percent less structural material than a standard rectangular shell.
Each facility 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, significantly faster than the multi-year substation queues typical of hyperscale builds. The domes draw up to 90 percent of their power from behind-the-meter sources rather than the grid. In Utah, power comes from rooftop solar; in El Paso, the company is developing its own geothermal generation, producing enough capacity to supply outside users. The green roof collects water used for cooling, meeting an estimated 90 percent of each site's needs.
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. Given the scale of hyperscale data center development, Kaufman & Company has brought in outside capital and infrastructure partners for the first time, including Meta, Google, Oracle, Microsoft, AT&T, Zayo, Fiberlight, Aurelia and Firmica, along with institutional lenders and government agencies.
Kaufman has named Ryan Wallace to lead the company's data center initiative, supported by a team including Bruce Brady, Chris Piggott, Ken Dowers, David Cooper, and others. The move allows founder Daniel Kaufman to shift focus to workforce housing projects and other ventures. Kaufman & Company is pursuing LEED Platinum certification for the server dome facilities.
