Kaufman & Company, a Los Angeles-based private investment and holding firm, has begun construction on two hyperscale data center projects using a proprietary geodesic dome design, marking its entry into large-scale AI infrastructure. The sites, located outside Salt Lake City, Utah, and in El Paso, Texas, are engineered specifically for AI workloads, with a curved, column-free interior that creates natural convection, reducing the need for traditional chiller plants. The hybrid air and direct liquid immersion cooling system cuts water use by roughly 90% compared with conventional data centers, and the geodesic shape requires about 30% less structural material than standard rectangular shells.
The facilities can scale 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, with rooftop solar in Utah and geothermal generation in El Paso, which will also supply outside users. The green roof collects water for cooling, meeting an estimated 90% of each site's cooling needs.
Daniel Kaufman, founder of Kaufman & Company, emphasized the importance of addressing power, water, appearance, and jobs concerns. "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," he said. The El Paso project, on roughly 24,000 acres of formerly idle ranch and oil and gas land, already has tenants secured for phase one, with plans for up to ten additional domes over the next decade. The company is also in early conversations to expand to Louisiana, Oklahoma, North and South Dakota, and 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, along with institutional lenders and government agencies. Ryan Wallace, Managing Director of Server Dome Global, will lead the data center initiative, supported by industry veterans David Keegan, David Jackson, and Bradley Blewett. This move allows Kaufman to focus on other projects like Oldivai's workforce housing and Mr. Good Container Homes.
The company is pursuing LEED Platinum certification for the server dome facilities. "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."
