Kaufman & Company, a Los Angeles-based private investment and holding firm, has broken ground on two hyperscale data center projects in Utah and Texas, featuring a proprietary geodesic dome design. The sites, located outside Salt Lake City and in El Paso, mark the company's entry into large-scale AI infrastructure and aim to address the most common concerns about AI development: power consumption, water usage, visual impact, and local employment.
The dome structure is engineered specifically for AI workloads. Its curved, column-free interior creates a natural convection current, reducing the need for traditional chiller plants. A hybrid air and direct liquid immersion cooling system cuts water use by approximately 90% compared with conventional data centers. The geodesic shape also requires about 30% less structural material than a standard rectangular shell, contributing to cost and environmental savings.
Facilities 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, a significant improvement over the multi-year substation queues typical of hyperscale builds. Each dome draws up to 90% of its power from behind-the-meter sources rather than the grid. In Utah, this power comes from rooftop solar; in El Paso, the company is also developing its own geothermal generation, which will produce enough capacity to supply outside users in addition to the facility itself. The green roof collects water used for cooling, meeting an estimated 90% of each site's cooling needs.
Daniel Kaufman, founder of Kaufman & Company, emphasized the importance of addressing community concerns. "The issues of power, water, appearance and jobs are real, impactful concerns, and we were seeing them in our own projects and across the industry," he said. "The geometry is what makes this exciting. It is a dome with a green roof that blends into the landscape rather than another lit box stretching for miles."
The El Paso project sits on approximately 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.
"In Utah, the community saw the server dome, and it changed the whole conversation," Kaufman said. "Drive through that area, and you see traditional data centers that are just big boxes. This is not blight, it is something we hope will be beautiful."
Given the scale of hyperscale data center development, which runs well beyond Kaufman & Company's typical self-funded model, the company has brought in outside capital and infrastructure partners for the first time, including Meta, Google, Oracle, Microsoft, AT&T, Zayo, Fiberlight, Aurelia, along with institutional lenders and government agencies.
Kaufman has named Ryan Wallace, Managing Director of Server Dome Global, to lead the company's data center initiative going forward, supported by a team that includes David Keegan, CEO and a data center industry leader with 40 million square feet of data center development over his career. David Jackson, President, and Bradley Blewett, CFO, round out the leadership team for ServerDome Global. The move allows Kaufman to shift his personal focus to Oldivai's workforce housing projects, Mr. Good Container Homes, and a small slate of special projects, including a boutique hotel conversion in Rumford, Maine. Kaufman & Company is pursuing LEED Platinum certification for the server dome facilities.
This development is significant as it addresses two of the most pressing issues in AI infrastructure: water and power. By drastically reducing water usage and relying on behind-the-meter renewable sources, the design could set a new standard for sustainable data centers. The rapid deployment timeline and reduced material requirements also offer operational and financial benefits. As AI continues to expand, such innovations will be crucial in balancing technological growth with environmental and community impact.
