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Founder / Operator·Data Centers

Jim Trout

Founder and Chief Executive Officer at CleanArc Data Centers

Denver, Colorado, USA

JT
LinkedIn
Why they matter

Serial data-center founder (Vantage, CleanArc) with 25 years building hyperscale capacity, now raising institutional capital for a $3B+, ~1GW renewables-powered campus pipeline.

Background

James (Jim) Trout is the Founder and CEO of CleanArc Data Centers, a hyperscale colocation developer he launched in 2023 to build renewables-powered data center campuses for cloud and AI customers. He has spent roughly 25 years in digital infrastructure, having founded Vantage Data Centers in 2010 and previously held senior roles at Digital Realty Trust, CoreSite (as CRG West), and ProLogis. He holds a B.S. in Chemical & Materials Engineering from Cal Poly Pomona and an MBA in Finance/Real Estate from Wharton.

Notable deals

  • 2025
    CleanArc announced a $3B hyperscale campus (Project VA1, ~1GW of grid capacity) in Caroline County, Virginia, the largest economic investment in county history
  • 2025
    Secured strategic investment from Nuveen (TIAA's investment manager, $1.3T AUM) as a partner in CleanArc's data center platform
  • 2025
    Townsend Group led a consortium of sovereign and pension investors into a strategic investment in CleanArc Data Centers

Call-prep brief

Background

  • Founder & CEO of CleanArc Data Centers (launched 2023 by power investor 547 Energy), building renewables-tied hyperscale colocation campuses for cloud/AI customers.
  • Founded Vantage Data Centers in 2010 (grew into a global hyperscale platform); earlier career at Digital Realty Trust, CoreSite (CRG West), and ProLogis. ~25 years in digital infrastructure.
  • Education: B.S. Chemical & Materials Engineering (Cal Poly Pomona), MBA Finance/Real Estate (Wharton).

Current Focus

  • Scaling CleanArc's flagship Virginia campus (300MW by Q1 2027) and the newly announced $3B, ~1GW Caroline County, VA campus (Project VA1).
  • Actively syndicating institutional capital: closed 2025 investments from Townsend Group (leading a sovereign/pension consortium) and Nuveen/TIAA, alongside earlier capital from Snowhawk (reported largest shareholder).

What He Cares About

  • Tying renewable energy directly to 24-hour data center load profiles — positions CleanArc against pure-play colocation peers on sustainability/power access.
  • Speed-to-power and site control in an AI-driven capacity crunch; large-acreage (200-700 acre) campus strategy.

Potential Sensitivities

  • CleanArc is still young (2023) and capital-intensive; funding amounts from recent rounds are undisclosed — probe on capital structure and runway.
  • He has founded and exited multiple platforms (Vantage, Proferian per public bios) — worth understanding his typical hold/exit horizon before assuming long-term operating involvement.

Questions to Ask

  1. What is CleanArc's committed capital stack behind the Virginia and Caroline County campuses, and how much is uncalled/dry powder?
  2. How does CleanArc secure power interconnects and renewable PPAs fast enough to hit the Q1 2027 delivery target, given regional grid constraints?
  3. Given his history founding and scaling Vantage before moving on, what is his intended role/horizon at CleanArc — building to sell, or building to hold?

Outreach draft

Subject
Quick call on CleanArc's Virginia buildout
Hi Jim, Congrats on the Caroline County campus announcement — a $3B, ~1GW project is a serious statement in this market, especially paired with the Townsend and Nuveen commitments earlier this year. I'm on the deal team at [Firm], and we've been tracking renewables-linked hyperscale colocation closely. Given your history building Vantage from the ground up and now scaling CleanArc's platform, I'd value 20 minutes to hear how you're thinking about capital needs, power procurement, and growth plans over the next 12-18 months. Would you have time for a short call in the next couple weeks? Best, [Placeholder Name]

Sources