Drone Maker VisionWave Enters Joint Venture for 10.5MW Underground Data Center in Israel
June 17, 2026
Drone Maker VisionWave Enters Joint Venture for 10.5MW Underground Data Center in Israel
A Nasdaq-listed drone and autonomous vehicle manufacturer, VisionWave, has announced plans to develop an underground data center in Israel, marking the latest instance of a company from an unrelated industry pivoting into the rapidly growing data center and AI infrastructure sector.
VisionWave has signed a non-binding term sheet with Lucky Whale Production Limited, a Hong Kong-incorporated real estate project sponsor, to form a joint venture (JV) that will develop, own, and operate a proposed Tier IV data center in Beth Shemesh, Israel. Under the proposed structure, VisionWave would hold a 68 percent stake in the JV, which in turn would own 75 percent of a special-purpose project company holding the land, building permits, and related rights. The remaining 25 percent of the project company would be retained by the current landowner, giving VisionWave an effective 51 percent controlling interest in the overall project. As part of the consideration, VisionWave plans to issue shares valued at $40 million to the unnamed landowner.
The underground facility, currently in the planning stage and reportedly located adjacent to the Galilee Medical Center, is designed to be a hardened, liquid-cooled environment. Phase I of the campus will span approximately 15,000 square meters (161,460 square feet) across ten data halls, targeting a total IT load of 10.5MW. The facility will feature a 2N redundant topology and is targeting Tier IV certification from the Uptime Institute, indicating a high level of fault tolerance. VisionWave noted that the project will require “substantial capital” to develop, which it plans to source through capital-markets activities or project-finance facilities.
“We are pleased to have signed a term sheet for a proposed joint venture to develop a Tier IV data center in Israel. The proposed all-share structure would allow us to pursue a 51 percent effective interest in the project without an upfront cash outlay, while we conduct due diligence and work toward definitive agreements,” said Doug Davis, CEO of VisionWave Holdings, Inc. Yuval Birman, CEO of Lucky Whale Production Limited, added, “The data center is an underground, hardened Tier IV-targeted design. We are pleased to bring this project into a proposed joint venture with VisionWave and to advance it through due diligence and definitive documentation.”
VisionWave, which went public via a SPAC merger last year, primarily develops autonomous unmanned systems and AI-powered perception software for the defense sector. The company recently secured a contract to provide drone-based surveillance systems for FIFA World Cup matches in Mexico. Its entry into the data center space reflects a broader trend of companies with no prior history in the sector—ranging from shoemakers and whiskey importers to electric truck makers—announcing plans to pivot toward AI and data center infrastructure in response to surging demand.
Source: datacenterdynamics
