Querétaro's Data Center Map: CloudHQ, Kio, Plan México, and the US-MX BargainEl mapa de data centers de Querétaro: CloudHQ, Kio, Plan México y el pacto EE.UU.-México

CBRE's Q1 2026 print put wholesale inventory in Querétaro at 298.2 MW, up 450% year on year, with vacancy around 10.6%. Depending on the source, the state now holds 65% to 79% of Mexico's installed data-center capacity. The practical split is capacity already serving tenants versus capacity that still depends on published energy dates.

Who is actually here

There are two books. One is capacity that already serves cloud and enterprise tenants. The other is campus AI load that only exists if CFE, Cenace, or a private substation hits the date on the lease.

Also on the board: Ascenty, Scala, Layer 9, AWS ($5B over 15 years), Microsoft Mexico Central, Google, Oracle, and a long tail of local names. ODATA holds the largest operational wholesale book, reported as more than 40% of Mexico's operational IT power, mostly in Querétaro, with QR04 stretching toward Guanajuato.

KIO is highly positioned in Querétaro because it already runs live colo and interconnection, not because it has the largest published megawatt number. CloudHQ and ODATA own the hyperscale race. KIO owns the Mexican operator seat: live QRO2, a five-country Latin American network, and I Squared Capital as shareholder.

I Squared Capital, the Miami infrastructure manager, agreed to acquire KIO in August 2021 and closed in December 2021. KIO dates the shareholder period to 2022. Since then the company says it has invested more than $900 million in Mexico and Latin America. On 13 August 2026, CEO Octavio Camarena said QRO2 phases 2 and 3 are complete, $170 million on that campus, with more than $200 million going into new 2026 projects in Mexico City, Monterrey, and Querétaro. QRO3 is a potential investment of up to $1.3 billion through 2030, about 100 MW, in El Marqués. That is an option, not energized spend. Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard Casaubón awarded Hecho en México at the same ceremony. The more than 8,100 jobs by 2030 is a KIO estimate.

Cross-country cooperation is the operating benefit. A rack in El Marqués sits on the same operator as Guatemala, Panama, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic. Equinix MX1 and MX2, also in El Marqués, are the carrier-neutral path into Infomart Dallas and NAP of the Americas in Miami. If QRO3 energizes, I Squared is the capital partner. Further global scale for KIO looks like more cities on that colo and interconnection network, not a 900 MW campus announcement.

CloudHQ is the change in published scale. First 200 MW secured, energy works started in January 2025 and aimed at the second half of 2027, about $250 million of pre-development capex, 7,200 construction jobs and roughly 1,000 permanent roles. Waterless cooling is a material design choice here. Querétaro is in structural water stress. Evaporative cooling in this corridor increases water demand.

Plan México, electricity first

The Mexican federal government presented Plan México on January 13, 2025. The published headline is $100 billion of FDI a year for six years, with nearshoring as the stated method. Data centers appeared on the first-month project list with semiconductors, drones, and a Mexican satellite. The Bajío is one of the poles.

Published energy figures are the binding constraint. About $23.4 billion is earmarked, with a target of 22,000 MW of new generation by 2030. Plan México assigns CFE majority participation in generation. Private plants can be built. Interconnection remains through CFE and Cenace. CloudHQ's private substation and 2 GW switching station are being developed with CFE and Cenace. Microsoft's Mexico Central site ran seven gas generators while it waited for high-voltage energization, currently aimed at Q2 2027.

CFE has connected some live loads: 2 MW for AWS and 6 MW for Abbott at Finsa Querétaro, 18.8 MW for ODATA at VYMSA. Those operating megawatts are an order of magnitude below a 200 MW first phase.

The U.S. And Mexico numbers

Mexico's 2025 FDI was a record $40.87 billion, up 10.8%. The United States sent $15.88 billion, 38.8% of the total, then Spain ($4.43B), Canada ($3.32B), the Netherlands, and Japan. Q1 2026 was another record at $23.59 billion, $10.21 billion of it from the United States. Plan México's published annual FDI target is $100B, against the 2025 print of $40.87B. Census figures released August 3 put private U.S. Data-center construction at about $68 billion annualized in June. In Querétaro, CFE, Cenace, and water are the constraints.

What the numbers imply

Site and vendor diligence starts with contracted, energized megawatts rather than announced capacity. CloudHQ would change the state's published category if 200 MW energizes in 2027. KIO is the Mexican colo and interconnection operator, with I Squared as the capital path if QRO3 energizes. Interconnection and power contracts determine whether announced megawatts become live capacity.

Sources

• CBRE Global Data Center Trends 2026 (Q1 print, published June 17)
• BNamericas / CBRE: Querétaro 298.2 MW, +450.2% YoY
• BNamericas: CloudHQ first 200 MW, $4.8B campus
• KIO: $900M+ invested. QRO2 $170M. Evaluating QRO3 up to $1.3B / ~100 MW
• BusinessWire: I Squared Capital closed the KIO acquisition, 2 December 2021
• BNamericas: CFE power for AWS and ODATA in Querétaro
• Jones Day: Plan México energy and FDI architecture
• Mexico Business News: 2025 FDI $40.87B. U.S. 38.8%
• BNamericas: Q1 2026 FDI $23.59B. U.S. $10.21B
• ABC / Census: U.S. Data-center construction up 46% in June
• ODATA: QR03 first building 72 MW IT (30 April 2025)
• Inmobiliare: Querétaro concentration and operator map