XTX Markets today announced plans to invest over €1bn to develop a state-of-the-art data centre complex in Kajaani, Finland. The firm has begun construction on its first data centre, with completion planned for 2026, and intends to build four additional data centres on the same site in the coming years.
XTX Markets owns a 478-acre site in Kajaani. The first data centre has floorspace of 15,000sq meters. The centre is comprised of three data halls totalling 22.5MW of IT power, and includes a mechanical plant area, a warehouse and a 50-person office space.
XTX Markets uses state-of-the-art machine learning technology to analyse vast amounts of data and produce price forecasts for financial instruments across the globe. These deep learning models require significant computational resources, which the firm will now house in its own large-scale data centre for the first time.
Joshua Leahy, Chief Technology Officer, XTX Markets said, “We believe the best way to future-proof our business is to invest in our own infrastructure, which we can continue to leverage over time. Having our own data centres enable us to deploy increased computing power on our terms, cost-effectively, and in a way that keeps pace with our growing business. Our need for compute has outgrown available leasing options. We are building ahead of our needs to establish a backbone for future growth of the business.”
Building and operating sustainably
XTX Markets is exploring ways that the heat generated by the data centre can be provided free of charge to the local community of Kajaani and reduce the facility’s environmental footprint. On paper, the facility will produce more waste heat annually than the entire town uses year-round. The firm plans to work closely with the local community to find innovative and additive ways to utilise this waste heat, fostering a collaborative approach with local organisations to provide tangible benefits to Kajaani.
The data centre will also not consume water in its core operations, unlike many other data centres situated in warmer climates or developed cities where water cooling systems are essential.
Mike Irwin, Chief Operating Officer, XTX Markets, said, “We do not believe data centres need to be constructed in cities or in built-up areas with warmer climates. In Kajaani, we can bring real benefits in terms of energy and local employment throughout the duration of the project and beyond. We are also using the natural low air temperature for cooling purposes as opposed to taking water away from the locality, like many other data centres do. We are proud to support the local community as we embark on this ambitious construction project. Being located in an area where we can pass on these potential benefits was a key reason for choosing Kajaani as our new home in Finland.”
Going local
XTX Markets is proud to be using exclusively Finnish contractors for the construction of the first data centre. XTX Markets engaged Sundström AB, a local Finnish contractor to complete the groundworks for the data centre complex and in December 2024, Finnish contractor YIT publicly announced that it would carry out the main construction works for the first data centre.
Jukka-Pekka Partanen, Head of XTX Markets Finland said, “Data centre owners tend to employ the big international contractors to lead on construction, but XTX Markets felt passionately about employing local firms for the project. We hope others follow suit as the Kajaani data centre ecosystem grows. We need the expertise of hundreds of local workers on-site during the construction of our facilities so the employment benefits to the local community will persist for many years.”
Wille Rydman, Minister of Economic Affairs, said, “We are delighted that XTX Markets has chosen Finland as the location for its ambitious data centre project. The speed at which the company has managed to break ground is truly impressive, and the significant expansion of the project is fantastic news. Finland’s increasing levels of foreign investment are a testament to the government’s policies, which are boosting job creation and strengthening our national economy. In this context, it is also great to see that XTX Markets has focused on hiring local contractors. Kajaani now boasts a thriving data centre ecosystem, and XTX Markets is a key part of that.”
XTX Markets press release