Responding to rapid growth in the advanced tech sector, Chicago-based design-build firm Clayco is launching a new business unit, Clayco Compute, focused exclusively on construction of data centers and related "hyperscale" projects and offering end-to-end services, which company leaders say differentiates it from other builders in the market.  

“The launch of Clayco Compute is a significant step forward as we position ourselves to meet the surging demand in the data center and hyperscale market," said company Executive Chairman Bob Clark in a statement. 

The new business unit is intended to take advantage of growing demand for advanced data center and quantum computing construction projects, said the company, noting that the hyperscale data center market is projected to grow 10% to 20% annually through 2030, according to Colliers. Also, U.S. private investments in the sector are expected to increase to $1 trillion over the next five years, according to Sean Klimczak, global head of infrastructure investment firm Blackstone.  

Clayco says it has completed or is undertaking more than $12.7 billion in advanced technology projects, with 57 active data center projects across the country.

Anthony Johnson, who was recently named Clayco CEO, says plans for Clayco Compute have been in the works for a while. "A lot of this is really responding to our customers' needs," he says. "They are looking for specialized delivery experts. This is very different from building a commercial office building. It needs specialization, mechanical and electrical experts." 

Johnson says clients are also looking for expertise in real estate with respect to power sites and power availability. Services offered by Clayco Compute include land acquisition, advanced utility management, design, engineering, equipment procurement, off-site modular solutions, self-perform concrete and mechanical, electrical and construction services. 

The company posted $3.6 billion in revenue from data center projects in 2024, accounting for more than half of its total revenue, and more than double the $1.5 billion it earned from the sector in 2023. Revenue from Clayco Compute is expected to reach over $4.5 billion in revenue by 2026, according to the firm. 

The new business unit will be led by Ryan McGuire, a 20-year industry veteran, who said in a statement that Clayco Compute will offer solutions for an industry that is “evolving at a remarkable pace." To staff the new unit, Johnson says Clayco has already hired 30 new employees in January 2025 and aims to hire 30 more each month through the rest of 2025.

An example of how advanced technology market needs are changing, even when construction is already underway, is evidenced by Microsoft's recent decision to pause construction of a $3.3-billion data center in Mount Pleasant, Wis., to potentially incorporate designs revisions due to changes in technology. 

Johnson says such pauses are to be expected. 

"We are involved in dynamic work—be it data centers, advanced manufacturing or technology-related projects," he says. "For every one of those jobs, there are new tools, new information, new technology going into these projects. That information is never fully known until those projects are started up. So our organization is structured to be flexible, to accommodate the changes and additional information ... during design and construction of these facilities." 

As ENR reported previously, Clayco is the general contractor for the initial phase of construction of  a multi-billion dollar, 440-acre quantum computing campus, on Chicago's southeast side.