What H5 DATA CENTERS does

H5 Data Centers is a privately-held wholesale and enterprise colocation operator headquartered in Denver, Colorado, with more than 4 million square feet of data center space across 25 U.S. markets. The company was founded in 2011 by CEO Josh Simms and has grown primarily through acquisitions of carrier hotels, purpose-built wholesale facilities, and edge sites in markets such as Seattle, Ashburn, Phoenix, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Quincy, San Antonio, Albuquerque, and — most recently — Tampa, Nashville, and Buffalo (acquired from 365 Data Centers in February 2026 in partnership with Novacap). Core offerings span cabinets, private suites, powered shells, build-to-suit developments, and sale-leaseback structures, all anchored on Tier III concurrently-maintainable design with a stated 100% uptime track record over 10+ years at the Denver campus.

The technology stack emphasizes redundant mechanical and electrical infrastructure, dense carrier interconnection ecosystems (CL-IX, SAT-IX, SIX with 300+ ASNs, IX-Denver, MidWest-IX, DE-CIX), and specialized HPC suites — including a Forced Physics DCT JouleForce cooling deployment with reported 90%+ reduction in cooling energy consumption and the H5 2020 Zone OptiCool high-density platform — targeted at AI/ML, life sciences and aerospace workloads. Power economics are a meaningful differentiator, with ~$0.03/kWh in Quincy, Washington (hydro) and ~$0.06/kWh in Ohio supplementing state tax incentives in AZ, OH, and WA.

H5 generates recurring revenue through long-term subscription contracts (cabinets, private suites, powered shells, remote hands, internet exchange access) plus one-time build-to-suit and sale-leaseback transactions. The go-to-market is sales-led enterprise field sales targeting Fortune 500 buyers, Tier 1 carriers and backbones (Hurricane Electric, Cogent, Level 3, XO), cloud and managed-service providers (LeaseWeb, NewCloud, Megaport, Zayo CloudLink), and content/CDN customers. Specialized sales motion targets HPC tenants via dedicated cooling and power density, while the broader carrier and network operator segment is served through internet exchange and carrier hotel access across more than 30 named carrier logos.

Name

H5 DATA CENTERS

Legal name

H5 Data Centers

Website

https://h5datacenters.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

H5 Data Centers is a privately-held wholesale and enterprise colocation operator headquartered in Denver, providing Tier III data center space, interconnection, and HPC/AI-ready suites across 25 U.S. markets to Fortune 500 enterprises, Tier 1 carriers, cloud providers, and content companies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Data Center Colocation & Wholesale Data Center Services

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)

SIC

Services-Computer Rental & Leasing (7377), Services-Facilities Support Management Services (8744)

akta.pro primary industry

Wholesale Colocation (Powered Shells / Suites) (HDABACAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Edge Colocation & Micro Data Centers (HDABACAI), HPC / AI-Optimized Data Center Facilities (HDABACAJ), Edge Colocation & Distributed Data Center Services (HDABAOAB)

Keywords

• Wholesale colocation services
• Enterprise data centers
• Edge data center solutions
• Internet exchange peering
• High-performance compute colocation

Headquarters

HQ city

Denver

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices27 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Wholesale Colocation: H5 Data Centers generates revenue primarily through wholesale colocation services, offering cabinets, private suites, and turn-key data center space to enterprises, cloud providers, and carriers. Revenue is recurring in nature with long-term lease agreements typical.
2. Powered Shell Leases: Customers lease shell space and manage their own electrical and mechanical infrastructure, security and floor space, providing flexibility and control.
3. Build-to-Suit Data Centers: Custom data center development for specific customer requirements, typically enterprise customers with unique infrastructure needs.
4. Remote Hands Services: On-site engineering support services for colocation customers requiring hands-on technical assistance.
5. Internet Exchange Access: Connectivity services including access to internet exchanges like CL-IX and SAT-IX for peering and interconnection.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

H5 Data Centers operates and leases more than 4 million square feet of Tier III colocation and wholesale data center space across 25 U.S. markets. Its core product suite spans individual cabinets, dedicated private suites, powered shells, build-to-suit facilities, and sale-leaseback structures, complemented by recurring services such as Remote Hands, edge colocation in secondary metros, internet exchange access (CL-IX, SAT-IX, SIX, IX-Denver, MidWest-IX), hybrid IT/cloud connectivity, and high-performance compute (HPC) suites for AI and dense workloads.

Product overview

H5 Data Centers operates as a national wholesale data center provider offering a comprehensive portfolio of colocation and interconnection solutions. The core offering includes wholesale data centers and enterprise colocation services (cabinets to private suites) across 25 U.S. markets with over 4 million square feet of capacity. The product suite comprises tiered colocation options ranging from individual cabinets to dedicated private suites and powered shells, complemented by build-to-suit and sale-leaseback structures for enterprise customers. Edge data centers in secondary markets provide low-latency connectivity, while internet exchange access (SAT-IX, CL-IX, and DE-CIX partnerships) enables carrier-neutral peering. Specialized HPC suites support high-density AI and compute workloads. The AccessH5 customer portal provides self-service management capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wholesale Data Centers Large-scale, Tier III colocation and wholesale data center space sold to enterprise customers and cloud providers as cabinets, private suites, or full wholesale deployments across 25 U.S. markets with redundant mechanical and electrical infrastructure.
• Edge Data Centers Strategically positioned edge data centers in secondary U.S. markets providing low-latency connectivity and carrier-hotel ecosystems for content distribution, hybrid IT, and cloud access.
• Powered Shell Data Centers Lease of shell data center space with basic power infrastructure, allowing customers to manage their own dedicated electrical, mechanical, security, and floor space deployments.
• Build-to-Suit Data Centers Custom-designed data center facilities built to customer specifications for long-term lease or sale-leaseback with flexible power, cooling, and footprint configurations.
• Sale-Leaseback Structures Financial structures enabling customers to sell existing data center assets to H5 Data Centers and lease the space back for continued operations.
• Remote Hands On-site engineering support services providing hands-on technical assistance including equipment installation, monitoring, and maintenance for colocation customers.
• Backup and Recovery Enterprise backup and disaster recovery solutions supporting data protection and business continuity for customers leveraging H5 Data Centers' colocation footprint.
• Hybrid IT and Cloud Access Hybrid IT infrastructure solutions enabling seamless integration between on-premise colocation and public cloud services via Megaport (180+ cloud providers) and Zayo CloudLink.
• Internet Exchange Access Direct access to carrier-neutral internet exchanges including CL-IX, SAT-IX, and partnerships with SIX, IX-Denver, and MidWest-IX for peering and reduced transit costs.
• Forced Physics HPC Suite (JouleForce) High-density HPC suite deployed at Phoenix using Forced Physics DCT (JouleForce) cooling, reducing cooling energy consumption by more than 90% while supporting AI, machine learning, and demanding computational workloads.
• H5 2020 Zone (HPC Zone) High-performance compute zone at the Denver data center using close-coupled refrigerant-based cooling via OptiCool Technologies, supporting HPC applications in AI, medical research, aerospace, and DNA sequencing.
• SAT-IX (San Antonio Internet Exchange) Neutral internet exchange platform operated at H5's 100 Taylor Street facility in San Antonio, enabling networks to reduce latency and transit costs through direct peering.
• CL-IX (Charlotte Internet Exchange) Internet exchange point at H5's Charlotte data center providing regional peering opportunities for carriers and content providers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% uptime over 10+ years at Denver data center
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• DE-CIXcoreTechnology or IntegrationH5 Data Centers partnered with DE-CIX to enable turnkey connectivity via SAT-IX in San Antonio, allowing customers to seamlessly connect and peer with networks in Dallas without third-party transport solutions or remote cross connect charges.
• MegaportmajorTechnology or IntegrationH5 Data Centers expanded partnership with Megaport to enable colocation customers to seamlessly connect to over 180+ cloud service providers through Megaport's software-defined networking platform.
• Hurricane ElectricmajorTechnology or IntegrationHurricane Electric, the world's largest IPv6-native Internet backbone, has expanded to multiple H5 Data Centers locations including Phoenix, Denver, Cleveland, Seattle, and Albuquerque, providing high-speed IP transit and connectivity services.
• Zayo GroupmajorTechnology or IntegrationH5 Data Centers provides access to Zayo's CloudLink service from Cleveland, Denver, Phoenix, and Seattle locations, enabling customers to connect to over 180 cloud service providers. Zayo also expanded connectivity to H5's San Antonio facility.
• Archeo FuturuscoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership to launch SAT-IX (San Antonio Internet Exchange) at H5's 100 Taylor Street facility. Archeo Futurus manages and supports the SIX extension at Seattle and launched SAT-IX in San Antonio.
• MidWest-IXmajorTechnology or IntegrationMidWest-IX partnered with H5 to establish the first Internet exchange in Cleveland, Ohio at the Cleveland Technology Center. MidWest-IX operates IXPs in Chicago, Houston, Indianapolis, St. Louis, and Cleveland serving 30+ networks.
• IX-DenvermajorTechnology or IntegrationIX-Denver internet exchange platform now directly available at H5's Denver data center campus, providing access to 40+ Autonomous System Numbers for network peering.
• Seattle Internet Exchange (SIX)coreTechnology or IntegrationSIX directly available at H5's 1000 Denny Way Seattle data center. SIX is a non-profit neutral IX providing access to 300+ ASNs with over 1.2 terabits peak traffic.
• EatonmajorTechnology or IntegrationEaton provides integrated power management solutions including Power Xpert 9395 UPS systems, busway, and switchgear to H5's Denver facility to increase reliability and efficiency.
• REC SolarminorOthersREC Solar installed 478 kW solar array at H5's Denver data center campus, generating approximately 23 million kWh of renewable power over system life.
• Forced Physics DCTmajorTechnology or IntegrationPartnership to deliver HPC suite using JouleForce cooling technology that reduces cooling energy consumption by more than 90%. First installation at Phoenix campus.
• LeaseWeb USAmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLeaseWeb expanded US data center footprint to H5's Phoenix location, offering full suite of retail colocation and hybrid IT cloud solutions.
• NewCloud NetworksminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGlobal cloud services provider expanded to H5's Cleveland and Atlanta locations offering private, public, hybrid cloud and disaster recovery services.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Equinix: Global leader in retail colocation and interconnection with dense IX ecosystems. Comparable business model around carrier-neutral interconnection and colocation services, though Equinix is much larger and globally focused.
• Digital Realty Trust: One of the largest global data center REITs offering both wholesale and retail colocation across hundreds of markets. Directly comparable as a wholesale/enterprise colocation peer, though substantially larger and publicly traded.

Direct peers

• CoreSite (American Tower): Carrier-neutral colocation and interconnection provider acquired by American Tower; strong in primary US markets with dense network ecosystems. Direct peer for H5's enterprise colocation and interconnection offerings.
• QTS Data Centers (Blackstone): Major hyperscale and enterprise data center operator acquired by Blackstone for ~$10B. Directly comparable wholesale/enterprise colocation model with multi-market US footprint.
• Flexential: National provider of colocation, cloud, and managed services with a focus on enterprise and mid-market customers across 20+ US markets. Direct competitor to H5's enterprise colocation offering.
• DataBank: Enterprise edge colocation provider backed by DigitalBridge, with multi-market US footprint. Comparable business model focused on enterprise colocation and interconnection, similar scale to H5.
• CyrusOne: Enterprise and hyperscale data center operator (acquired by KKR/Global Infrastructure Partners in 2021). Comparable in serving large enterprises and cloud providers with wholesale colocation across US markets.

Emerging players

• Compass Datacenters: Hyperscale-focused data center provider with purpose-built facilities across US markets. Comparable in serving enterprise/wholesale customers, with growing HPC/AI focus.
• EdgeConneX: Edge-focused data center operator backed by EQT. Comparable in pursuing secondary-market edge colocation strategy with hyperscale and cloud provider customers, though more hyperscale-tilted than H5.

Others

• Zayo Group: Fiber and bandwidth infrastructure provider with colocation assets; key interconnection partner for H5 via CloudLink. Adjacent comparison for interconnection ecosystem and dark fiber backbones that complement data center offerings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/h5_datacenters

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about H5 DATA CENTERS