Blue Owl launches Kirkwood to build data center fiber
The alternative-asset giant moves down the digital-infrastructure stack, betting the fiber connecting data centers is as valuable as the buildings.
Blue Owl Capital is launching Kirkwood Infrastructure Group, a new venture to develop, own and operate the fiber networks that connect data centers, hyperscalers and communications providers — a move deeper into the plumbing of the AI buildout rather than the data centers themselves.
The venture is being seeded with roughly 400 miles of existing network and 40 data centers that Blue Owl integrated from South Reach Networks, which it acquired in 2025, along with undersea cable landing stations. Kirkwood is led by CEO Scott Bergs, previously chief executive of South Reach.
Why it matters
Institutional capital has poured into data center shells and power; Kirkwood is a bet that the fiber linking them is the next scarce asset. As hyperscalers stitch together campuses across regions, long-haul and metro connectivity becomes a bottleneck — and an ownable one. For Blue Owl, the launch extends a digital-infrastructure push that already includes a $29 billion Meta data center partnership struck in 2025 and a nearly $1 billion Northern Virginia recapitalization in June.
The numbers
Kirkwood starts with about 400 miles of network and 40 data centers, and is planning roughly 200 miles of new conduit and high-capacity fiber across Louisiana and Mississippi — Gulf Coast corridors positioned for new hyperscale and industrial demand.
What’s next
The venture will build out that Gulf Coast fiber while integrating the South Reach assets into a single platform. “The digital infrastructure buildout in the U.S. is just beginning,” said Scott Bergs, Kirkwood’s CEO. The launch adds to a wave of capital targeting the connective tissue of AI infrastructure, not just the warehouses of servers.