CPPIB Invested $416 Million in xAI Data Center Complex Financing in Tennessee and Mississippi

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) invested $416 million in 2025 to help finance a large data center complex for xAI, now SpaceX, across Tennessee and Mississippi, according to a publication by Shift: Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health.

The available source associates the complex’s power supply with dozens of gas turbines that it describes as unpermitted. It does not specify the number of units, their capacity, installation dates, or the permitting status of individual turbines. The source also reports public criticism of the project and allegations of environmental racism.

For data center and power-infrastructure markets, the case points to the potential role of institutional capital in accelerating AI campus development when conventional grid interconnection is unavailable or delayed. This is an inference from the reported circumstances rather than a confirmed description of the project’s grid position.

Local gas-fired generation can provide an alternative power path for high-load facilities, but it may also complicate permitting, heighten exposure to environmental scrutiny and community opposition, and create risks of delay or cancellation. The reported case therefore underscores the strategic value of dependable grid infrastructure and low-carbon power supply for large AI data center projects.

CPPIB manages the $864 billion Canada Pension Plan on behalf of 22 million Canadians, according to the same source.