Alternative investment manager Ares Management has closed its first dedicated data center fund.

The company this week announced the final close of Japan DC Partners I LP (JDC I), Ares’ first vehicle dedicated to data center investment and development.

With approximately $2.4 billion in total equity commitments, Ares said the fund will make it one of the largest data center investors in Japan.

JDC I will initially invest in the development of three data center campuses in Greater Tokyo, expected to collectively deliver nearly 240MW of IT load.

These facilities will be developed and operated by Ares’ data center platform Ada Infrastructure. Ares acquired Ada from APAC industrial real estate firm GLP last year.

Ares also said it expects to invest in additional opportunities in Japan in the future.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) has made an equity commitment of approximately $1.3 billion into the fund. GLP – which sold Ada to Ares – is also an investor in the fund.

“This achievement underscores the leading investment and development capabilities that the combined Ares and GCP International platform brings to Japan’s new economy sectors, and we appreciate the meaningful support from the fund’s investors, including CPP Investments,” said Blair Jacobson, co-president of Ares. “With the increasing adoption of AI and cloud computing technologies positioning Japan as a key market in the global data center ecosystem, we believe this capital will enable Ares to address supply constraints.”

Ada Infrastructure, owns and operates several large hyperscale development projects, with upwards of 1GW of capacity across markets including London, Tokyo, Osaka, and São Paulo.

Developments include a 210MW data center campus in East London’s Royal Docks, which was awarded a resolution to grant planning in June 2024, and the 31MW Tokyo West 1 campus, where groundbreaking took place in May last year.

In total, Ada, lists plans for five data center campuses across Japan, totaling 600MW of IT load. Four are set to be located in Tokyo – TKW1 (31MW across three buildings, the first due live this year), TKW2 (295MW across eight buildings, due live in 2028, TKE1 (67MW across three buildings, due live in 2027), TKE2 (190MW across four buildings, due live in 2027)– and one in Osaka (a single 16MW facility due live in 2028).

“The demand for data centers in Asia Pacific continues to grow due to the increasing need for data processing and consumption,” said Max Biagosch, senior managing director and global head of real assets for CPP Investments. “As one of the largest data center markets in Asia, Japan acts as a key connection point between Asia and North America to facilitate efficient data transfer. The commitment to the fund will further advance our global data center strategy and deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns for CPP contributors and beneficiaries.”

Ares has approximately $546 billion of assets under management, with operations across North America, South America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East.