Ares Makes $700 Million Bet on AI With Virginia Buying Spree

Ares Management Corp. is ramping up its bet on the AI boom, spending $700 million to build a sprawling data-center complex and buy fully-leased properties in Virginia.

The Los Angeles-based investment firm, which absorbed data-center operator ADA Infrastructure this year, agreed to buy a development site in Spotsylvania County, where two data centers are slated, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

The land spans 314 acres — an area greater than 200 football fields — and that project’s first phase calls for some 200 megawatts of IT load capacity, according to a statement seen by Bloomberg. The ...