While the market slides, this AI deal is fueling a 5% rally in this real estate stock
Shares of Texas Pacific Land Corporation surged on Wednesday after the company announced a strategic partnership aimed at developing large-scale data centre campuses across its extensive land holdings in West Texas, reigniting investor interest in the company’s potential role in the artificial intelligence infrastructure boom.
Texas Pacific stock climbed as much as 8.3% during the session, before paring some gains, following news of the agreement with Bolt Data & Energy, an artificial-intelligence infrastructure company.
The stock was last up about 5.6%. Texas Pacific joined the S&P 500 index in November 2024.
Under the terms of the agreement, Bolt raised $150 million in capital, with Texas Pacific committing $50 million of that total.
In return, Texas Pacific will receive an equity interest in Bolt, warrants, and a right of first refusal to supply water to data-centre projects affiliated with Bolt.
Strategic bet on AI infrastructure
The partnership positions Texas Pacific to play a more direct role in the development of AI-related infrastructure, despite the company not being a traditional technology stock.
“We believe West Texas has the attributes necessary to become one of the largest concentrations of AI compute infrastructure globally,” said Texas Pacific Chief Executive Officer Ty Glover.
“Combined with TPL’s ownership of nearly one million acres, our collaboration with Bolt is designed to help realise that opportunity.”
Bolt Data & Energy is chaired by former Google Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt.
The companies said Bolt is currently pursuing customers and commercial partnerships to develop data centres on Texas Pacific’s land.
“Our goal is to create the largest and most efficient data centre company in the world by combining abundant energy production, efficient and scalable data infrastructure, and the largest land expansion runway in North America,” Schmidt said.
A landowner with unique assets
Texas Pacific is the corporate successor to the Texas Pacific Land Trust, which was formed in 1888.
The company owns approximately 882,000 acres of land concentrated in the arid, petroleum-rich Permian Basin, making it one of the largest landowners in Texas.
Its revenue streams are primarily derived from water services, oil and gas royalties, and land leases and sales.
The company’s vast acreage, combined with access to water and energy resources, has increasingly drawn attention from investors looking for unconventional ways to gain exposure to the AI infrastructure theme.
Renewed focus on data centres
Speculation around Texas Pacific’s potential to host data centres began building late last year, helping drive a sharp rally in the stock during October and November.
The thesis centred on the company’s access to water services and relatively low-cost power, which are critical inputs for large-scale data centre operations.
That enthusiasm faded in 2025, with shares falling more than 20% year to date before Wednesday’s announcement.
The new partnership with Bolt appears to have revived investor optimism about the company’s ability to capitalise on the growing demand for AI compute infrastructure.
The collaboration aims to position West Texas as a global hub for AI data centres, leveraging the region’s energy production capacity, workforce, and regulatory environment, according to the companies.
Texas Pacific is not alone in pitching the Permian Basin as a future data centre hub.
LandBridge, a newer competitor that has also acquired land in the region, has made similar arguments to investors about hosting data centres on its acreage. Shares of LandBridge rose 3.2% on Wednesday.
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