[AI Data Center Demand Drives IPO Boom: Switch Secretly Files for U.S. Listing, Valuation May Approach $50 Billion] BlockBeats News, August 8, according to Bloomberg, data center company Switch Inc. has secretly filed for a U.S. IPO, becoming one of the latest data center companies seeking to go public amid the surge in investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure. Sources familiar with the matter revealed that Switch plans to go public as early as November this year and is currently working with investment banks such as Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Morgan Stanley to advance the issuance process. The company is seeking a post-IPO valuation (including debt) close to $50 billion. Additionally, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) co-founder Ben Horowitz will join Switch's board of directors. Switch had previously been preparing for a new round of financing led by a16z and may seek a valuation close to $50 billion. Headquartered in Las Vegas, Switch operates data centers in Nevada, Michigan, Georgia, and Texas. The company is currently majority-owned by DigitalBridge, which, along with other investors, acquired Switch in 2022 for approximately $11 billion, including debt. This IPO filing comes at a time when the capitalization of the AI data center industry is accelerating. Since the beginning of this year, several data center operators and related equipment service companies have raised funds through initial public offerings in the U.S. The market believes that as demand for AI model training and inference continues to grow, computing power infrastructure is becoming a new focal point for capital markets. [Original Article Link]