The Infrastructure Investor Podcast

This episode is sponsored by Brookfield

The infrastructure asset class is entering a defining moment. As energy transition pressures, geopolitics and capital intensity reshape the market, assets such as power networks and digital infrastructure are becoming central to economic competitiveness, rather than simply defensive investments.

Artificial intelligence is accelerating this shift. Beyond the hype, AI’s growth depends on vast amounts of physical infrastructure – from power generation and transmission to advanced data centres and computers. Meeting that demand is pulling infrastructure managers into a global race alongside hyperscalers and governments, creating one of the decade’s most significant investment opportunities.

This podcast is part of PEI Group's Private Markets 2030 programme exploring how private markets are evolving through the second half of the decade. In this programme, we unpack how managers can adapt, attract capital and deliver performance in an increasingly complex market.

Joining us are two guests from Brookfield: Stewart Upson, co-president of Brookfield’s infrastructure group, and Udhay Mathialagan, a managing partner in the infrastructure group and CEO of Brookfield’s global data centre practice. They discuss the opportunities and risks for managers delivering the supporting infrastructure around AI and look at how investors are partnering with governments, hyperscalers and AI developers.

Read more insights on the infrastructure AI journey from Brookfield’s Stewart Upson here.

Editor-in-chief Bruno Alves sits down with Americas editor Zak Bentley to provide a holistic view across the infrastructure fundraising market, taking in closed-end and open-end fundraising.

According to Infrastructure Investor data, $289 billion was raised for closed-end structures in 2025, making it the largest-ever year for the asset class. Data from LP consultancy bfinance similarly suggests that 2025 is set to be the best fundraising year for open-end funds since 2022.

Our discussion focuses on the similarities between closed and open-end fundraising – both highly concentrated markets; dissects the impact on strategies of a lasting shift to a two-year-plus fundraising timeline; explores why elevated redemptions are not yet a concern for open-end vehicles; and much more.

In this year's last episode, editor-in-chief Bruno Alves sits down with Doug Kimmelman, founder and executive chairman of Energy Capital Partners.

Today's discussion focuses on the US electricity market, which is experiencing a "shining moment" driven by unprecedented demand growth after 30 years of stagnation. Key drivers include the massive power needs of artificial intelligence and data centres, along with LNG exports, the onshoring of manufacturing, and the expansion of electric vehicles and crypto mining. This surging demand - which could require as much as 400GW of new capacity, including replacements for retiring coal and nuclear plants - is rapidly transforming the sector.

With that in mind, we discuss how the market is prioritising slowing the retirement of existing generation, brownfield expansions, and fast-to-deploy solar and storage, while the reliance on natural gas increases despite turbine bottlenecks. We also explore how the presence of hyperscalers with strong balance sheets is reshaping the contracting environment, leading to longer-tenure, highly financeable power purchase agreements.

In this episode, editor-in-chief Bruno Alves sits down with Waldemar Szlezak, KKR’s global head of digital infrastructure.

In a wide-ranging discussion, they address whether there's a bubble forming around AI infrastructure and why parts of the market are overheating during one of the fastest capex cycles in tech history. They then explore the lifespan of data centre infrastructure compared to the rapid obsolescence of the GPUs that power it, touch on the industry's “coordination tax”, examine KKR's molecule to the rack strategy, and much more.

We're going to be talking about digital infrastructure a lot at the Infrastructure Investor Global Summit, taking place in Berlin from the 24th to the 27th of March 2026. We have an early bird deadline offer expiring on the 12th of December, which you should definitely consider. So don't miss your chance to lock in discounted registration and join over 3,000 infrastructure decision makers – including 1,000 LPs from 50 plus countries – at the iconic STATION Berlin.

In this episode, Daniel Kemp, APAC editor, private markets, for PEI Group and APAC real assets reporter Tom Taylor reflect on our recent Infrastructure Investor Network Australia Forum, in Melbourne, and other Asia-Pacific events held this year.

The discussion covers a wide range of topics, including how geopolitics is shaping investment decisions across the region; AI and digital infrastructure’s thematic dominance, with massive demand for data centres driving investment not only in developing markets but also in Southeast Asia; the headwinds Australia is facing, with foreign investor frustration over new tax rules, and renewables stagnation; the maturation of Japan’s investor base, with LPs starting to make more direct fund commitments; the importance of relationship-driven capital, and much more.