The Wild Wild West Of LEGO Datacenters

Nicolas Bontigui · SemiAnalysis · July 29, 2026 at 22:09 · ⏱ 68 min read  | Read on Substack ↗
Summary
The article argues that modular datacenter construction is becoming the default playbook due to acute labor shortages, especially for electricians, and that modularization can compress build timelines by ~36% and reduce all-in costs by ~8%. For markets, this structural shift benefits vendors and integrators that provide factory-built power, cooling, and white-space modules, while hyperscalers like AWS and Meta are driving the most innovative designs.
  • •The SemiAnalysis Industrials Model tracks over 61GW of modular capacity across 1,000+ sites, with modular penetration expected to reach 30%+ of live capacity by end of 2028.
  • •Electrician shortages are projected to emerge by 2027, with 30-40% of total construction man-hours in a datacenter project attributed to electricians; shortages are most acute in Texas and Ohio.
  • •Vertiv's content per MW can double from ~$3.5M to ~$7M when moving from discrete equipment to full-stack modular solutions like OneCore.
  • •Modular construction can compress the total construction window by ~36% (7-9 months) compared to traditional stick-build, and reduce all-in cost by ~8% ($1.1M/MW on a ~$14.6M/MW baseline).
  • •Fabrics like Meta's ‘tent’ structures at Prometheus New Albany allowed eight 125,000 sq ft halls to be erected in under nine months, versus 2-3 years for permanent buildings.
  • •AWS's Project Houdini prefabricates the white-space buildout, cutting deployment from ~15 weeks to 2-3 weeks and eliminating over 50,000 on-site electrician hours per module.
  • •Key publicly named modular vendors and integrators include Vertiv (VRT), Schneider Electric, Comfort Systems (FIX), Sterling Infrastructure (STRL), Flex (FLEX), Eaton (ETN), and Trane Technologies (TT).
  • •Nvidia's DSX reference design (e.g., Vera Rubin DSX) is being adopted by operators like CoreWeave and Hut 8, with Vertiv's OneCore and Schneider's EcoStruxure Pod aligned to the platform.
Read time 68 min
Length 68,343 chars
Category finance
Ideas
Nicolas Bontigui Substack author, SemiAnalysis
Article explicitly quantifies Vertiv's content uplift from ~$3.5M/MW to ~$7M/MW with modular solutions like OneCore and MegaMod, and notes that Vertiv is a key OEM-led modular provider with lead times
Article explicitly quantifies Vertiv's content uplift from ~$3.5M/MW to ~$7M/MW with modular solutions like OneCore and MegaMod, and notes that Vertiv is a key OEM-led modular provider with lead times over 12 months, indicating strong demand and pricing power. Risk: Scaling factory capacity and execution risk; long lead times could frustrate operators and drive them to alternative integrators.
VRT
Nicolas Bontigui Substack author, SemiAnalysis
Schneider Electric's EcoStruxure Pod and power/cooling modules are featured as key white-space and subsystem modular solutions, with claim of 60% faster deployment and 13% lower first cost on power an
Schneider Electric's EcoStruxure Pod and power/cooling modules are featured as key white-space and subsystem modular solutions, with claim of 60% faster deployment and 13% lower first cost on power and cooling. Article also notes Schneider's factory-based production and partnership with Compass for repeatable power centers. Risk: Competition from Vertiv and system integrators; reliance on reference designs and Nvidia DSX alignment may limit differentiation.
SBGSY
Nicolas Bontigui Substack author, SemiAnalysis
Comfort Systems is highlighted as a leading system integrator with 3.5M+ sq ft of shop floor in Texas and North Carolina, taking third-party equipment and assembling it into modular skids for hypersca
Comfort Systems is highlighted as a leading system integrator with 3.5M+ sq ft of shop floor in Texas and North Carolina, taking third-party equipment and assembling it into modular skids for hyperscalers. The article references a subscriber note titled 'Modular Capex Is The Moat', implying competitive advantage. Risk: Dependence on large hyperscaler contracts and project-specific design; margin compression if double-margin penalties persist.
FIX
Nicolas Bontigui Substack author, SemiAnalysis
Sterling Infrastructure is named as a key beneficiary in the modular vendor landscape, with an explicit subscriber note titled 'Winning Where It Counts: Quadrupled TAM via Texas, Pacific Northwest, an
Sterling Infrastructure is named as a key beneficiary in the modular vendor landscape, with an explicit subscriber note titled 'Winning Where It Counts: Quadrupled TAM via Texas, Pacific Northwest, and the Midwest; 2X Content per MW from CEC Attach; ~$6B Run-Rate In View', indicating strong growth potential in modular datacenter construction. Risk: Execution risk as the company scales into new geographies; potential for labor shortages to slow project completion.
STRL
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This newsletter, published July 29, 2026, features Nicolas Bontigui discussing VRT, SBGSY, FIX, STRL. 4 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: Nicolas Bontigui  · Tickers: VRT, SBGSY, FIX, STRL