Macquarie Group Commits €117 Million to Finance Polarise's AI Data Center Expansion in Europe

Macquarie Group Commits €117 Million to Finance Polarise's AI Data Center Expansion in Europe January 12, 2026 In a significant move highlighting the intense capital demands of artificial intelligence infrastructure, global financial services group Macquarie has entered a strategic financing partnership with European AI data center startup Polarise. The deal, valued at up to €117 million (approximately $136.65 million), underscores the critical role of specialized funding in scaling next-generation computing capacity to meet soaring demand across the continent. The partnership was formally announced this week, with the capital being provided by Macquarie’s Specialised and Asset Finance division. The primary initial use of the funds will be to complete the fit-out of Polarise's flagship AI data center facility in Munich, Germany, which is slated to launch in early 2026. The financing is also structured to support the company's subsequent projects elsewhere in Germany and wider Europe. Polarise, which positions itself as an end-to-end provider of AI data centers and a cloud platform, currently operates facilities in Oslo, Norway, spanning 3,800 square meters (40,900 square feet), and in Frankfurt, Germany. The Munich project, first detailed in November 2025, is already under construction and has secured Deutsche Telekom as an anchor tenant for its Industrial AI Cloud service. Further data centers are planned in the German states of Bavaria, Hesse, and North Rhine-Westphalia. Commenting on the financing, Michel Boutouil, CEO of Polarise, stated, “This financing is pivotal in helping us realize our vision to support Germany’s AI-driven industrial transformation and build the backbone of Europe’s AI ambitions." He added, "Macquarie’s ability to execute within an extremely short timeframe, combined with its deep understanding of the AI and data center sector, has been instrumental in making this project possible.” From the investor's perspective, Tom McDonell, associate director in Macquarie’s Specialised and Asset Finance division, noted, “We are proud to partner with Polarise in supporting this groundbreaking project and have been thoroughly impressed by their deep HPC expertise. This partnership reflects our shared commitment to innovation and advancing transformative technologies in the AI infrastructure sector.” The transaction signals a growing trend of major financial institutions targeting the digital infrastructure sector, particularly assets geared towards high-performance computing and AI. For Polarise, the capital injection accelerates its bid to become a key player in Europe's competitive data center landscape, aiming to set what Boutouil calls "a new benchmark for reliability, scalability, and sustainability" for AI workloads. As European nations and enterprises aggressively pursue AI capabilities, such partnerships between agile operators and deep-pocketed financiers are likely to become increasingly common to bridge the multi-billion-dollar infrastructure gap. Source: datacenterdynamics