What SDC Capital Partners does

SDC Capital Partners is a private investment firm founded in 2017 by Todd Aaron, former co-founder and co-CEO of Sentinel Data Centers. The firm specializes exclusively in digital infrastructure, investing across four verticals: data centers (hyperscale and multi-tenant), network and fiber (FTTH and metro dark fiber), wireless infrastructure (towers and rooftops), and cloud/IT services (notably AWS managed services through portfolio company Effectual). SDC pursues control and non-control positions through growth equity, preferred equity, and structured debt, with check sizes ranging from $50 million to more than $1 billion per investment, targeting operating companies, individual assets, and de novo platforms.

As of mid-2026, SDC reports approximately $12.3 billion in assets under management across a $2.1 billion flagship fund, 29 investments across 8 countries, 3.5 GW of data centers delivered or in development, and 9,000+ fiber miles developed. The firm is headquartered in New York with additional offices in Charleston and London and operates with 78 team members, including a 23-person Shared Services Provider function. Portfolio brands include ODATA and Ascenty (Latin American hyperscale data centers), Lyte Fiber, IQ Fiber, Cityside Fiber, SLIC, ALLO, Smartaira (fiber-to-the-premise), BandwidthIG and SummitIG (dark fiber), Arcadia Towers and Verta (wireless), and Effectual (AWS cloud services).

The firm's business model is institutional asset management: revenue is generated through management fees on committed and deployed capital across its funds, supplemented by carried interest on realizations. SDC combines financial capital with operational engineering and construction capabilities (with senior hires from Equinix, Google, STACK Infrastructure, CBRE DCS, and Yondr) to develop greenfield digital infrastructure assets and to support add-on acquisitions at portfolio companies. In October 2025, Thoma Bravo made a strategic minority investment in SDC, bringing the first external institutional capital into the firm.

Name

SDC Capital Partners

Legal name

SDC Capital Partners, LLC

Website

https://www.sdccapitalpartners.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SDC Capital Partners is a private equity firm founded in 2017 that invests exclusively in digital infrastructure, including data centers, fiber networks, wireless towers, and cloud services. The firm manages approximately $12.3 billion in AUM across a $2.1 billion flagship fund, with 29 investments in 8 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Equity / Digital Infrastructure Investment Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Other Financial Vehicles (52599)

SIC

Investors, Nec (6799), Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Strategic Real Assets & Infrastructure Venture Investing (FSANAHAN)

Keywords

• Digital infrastructure investing
• Private equity management
• Growth equity capital
• Data center development
• Fiber network investment

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Investment Management Fees: SDC Capital Partners generates revenue through management fees and carried interest from its institutional funds, including its current flagship fund of $2.1 billion. The firm provides flexible capital solutions including growth equity, preferred equity, and structured debt to digital infrastructure companies and assets.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

SDC Capital Partners is a private equity investment firm that deploys institutional capital into digital infrastructure across four primary sectors: data centers, network/fiber, wireless infrastructure, and cloud/IT services. The firm provides flexible capital solutions including growth equity, preferred equity, and structured debt ranging from $50 million to over $1 billion per investment, taking controlling and non-controlling positions in operating companies, individual assets, and de novo platforms globally. The firm manages $12.3 billion in assets under management through its current $2.1 billion flagship fund.

Product overview

SDC Capital Partners is a global digital infrastructure investment firm founded in 2017 that operates a platform-plus-portfolio model, investing in and developing digital infrastructure assets. The firm's investment strategy encompasses four core focus areas: (1) Data Centers — hyperscale and multi-tenant facilities across the US and Europe (including ODATA, Ascenty, and development sites in Virginia, Frankfurt, and the UK); (2) Network/Fiber — fiber-to-the-premise networks serving residential and business customers (including Lyte Fiber, IQ Fiber, Cityside Fiber, SLIC, Smartaira, and ALLO); (3) Dark Fiber Infrastructure — high-capacity metro networks for data centers and hyperscalers (including BandwidthIG, SummitIG); and (4) Wireless Infrastructure — tower and rooftop development (including Arcadia Towers and Verta); and (5) Cloud/IT Services — cloud strategy and managed services (including Effectual). The portfolio includes both fully-owned portfolio companies and partially-realized/exited investments, managed through the firm's $12.3B assets under management platform with flexible capital solutions including growth equity, preferred equity, and structured debt.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Data Center Investment and Development Equity and structured debt capital investments for hyperscale and multi-tenant data center operating companies and greenfield development projects, targeting AI and cloud computing demand.
• Fiber-to-the-Premise Network Investments Growth equity capital for regional fiber-to-the-premise ISPs delivering high-speed internet to residential and business customers across Texas, Florida, Upstate New York, Southern California, the Midwest, and the Western United States.
• Dark Fiber Infrastructure Investments Equity and debt capital for metro dark fiber networks providing high-capacity connectivity solutions for data centers, hyperscalers, and enterprise customers across Northern California, Greater Atlanta, and Northern Virginia.
• Wireless Infrastructure Investments Growth equity for tower and rooftop wireless telecommunications infrastructure development and management across the United States, supporting carrier networks.
• Cloud and IT Services Investments Growth and control equity for cloud services providers, including AWS-specialized managed services, cloud strategy, migration, and management for enterprise and public sector customers.
• ALLO Communications Portfolio company providing modern fiber-to-the-premise network services in the Midwestern United States, serving parts of Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, and Nebraska.
• Lyte Fiber Portfolio company providing home and business fiber optic internet services to communities across Texas and beyond, offering high-speed connectivity to residential and business customers.
• ODATA Portfolio company operating as a hyperscale data center platform with operations across Brazil, Colombia, Chile, and Mexico, providing colocation and data center services.
• Ascenty Portfolio company operating as a hyperscale data center platform headquartered in Brazil, providing data center services.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• DigitalBridge: DigitalBridge is a dedicated digital infrastructure investment manager operating across data centers, fiber, and towers. It is the most direct competitor to SDC, with a similar operating-investor model and overlapping portfolio companies like Vantage, DataBank, and Global Connect.
• Stonepeak: Stonepeak is a leading infrastructure-focused private equity firm with significant digital infrastructure exposure (including co-leading BIG Fiber's debt facility with SDC). It directly competes for fiber, data center, and communications infrastructure assets and is a sponsor-finance counterparty to SDC.
• I Squared Capital: I Squared Capital is a global infrastructure private equity manager with digital infrastructure holdings across data centers and fiber. Comparable to SDC in targeting operational infrastructure assets and providing flexible capital across the capital stack.
• EQT Infrastructure: EQT Infrastructure is a global infrastructure investor with significant data center exposure (including EdgeConneX). SDC VP William Ouyang previously worked at EQT Partners' North American Private Equity group, indicating direct talent overlap and competitive positioning in mid-market digital infrastructure transactions.

Broad incumbents

• Macquarie Asset Management: Macquarie Asset Management is one of the world's largest infrastructure investors via MIRA, with significant digital infrastructure exposure. It operates at much greater scale than SDC but competes for similar hyperscale data center and fiber assets globally.
• Brookfield Infrastructure: Brookfield Infrastructure is a mega-scale infrastructure investor with growing data center and digital infrastructure exposure. While far larger than SDC, it competes directly for hyperscale data center platforms and large fiber transactions globally.
• KKR Global Infrastructure: KKR's infrastructure platform invests in digital infrastructure including data centers, towers, and fiber. As a multi-hundred-billion-dollar platform, it competes with SDC on larger transactions while also offering exit partnership opportunities for SDC's portfolio companies.
• Blackstone Infrastructure Partners: Blackstone Infrastructure is a major infrastructure investor with growing data center and digital infrastructure exposure (e.g., QTS Realty). Comparable to SDC's investor profile but operates at materially greater scale and can outbid on flagship transactions.
• Carlyle Group Infrastructure: Carlyle's global infrastructure platform invests across digital infrastructure, fiber, and data centers. SDC's Principal Shannon Dominguez previously worked at Carlyle Infrastructure, indicating talent overlap and competitive bidding in digital infra processes.

Emerging players

• Catalyst Investors: Catalyst Investors is a growth equity firm focused on internet infrastructure, wireless, and software (SDC Partner Todd Clapp previously spent 17 years at Catalyst as Partner). Catalyst competes for similar fiber and communications infrastructure growth equity investments but typically at smaller check sizes.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sdc-capital-partners-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Subsidiaries14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A5 records

Investments8 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SDC Capital Partners