Kaufman & Company has announced BUILD 2030, a national development initiative that unites its housing, real estate, construction, technology, and AI infrastructure operations under a single investment and development strategy. The move reflects a growing recognition that America's next infrastructure cycle will be shaped not only by traditional projects like roads and bridges but also by two critical needs: housing and computing capacity for an AI-driven economy. By positioning itself at the intersection of these demands, Kaufman & Company aims to capitalize on what it calls "infrastructure convergence."
The initiative matters because it challenges the conventional separation of real estate asset classes. Daniel Kaufman, Founder and Principal of Kaufman & Company, explained, "Everyone is talking about the AI infrastructure boom, but infrastructure cannot only be about machines. If we're going to build infrastructure for AI, we should be equally serious about building infrastructure for people." This philosophy underpins BUILD 2030's approach to coordinating projects across a platform that already includes residential development, build-to-rent communities, workforce and affordable housing, custom housing, commercial and hospitality development, AI infrastructure, real estate advisory, and venture capital. With over 25 years of experience, more than $2 billion in project value, and over 10,000 housing units developed, the company brings substantial scale to this integrated model.
At its core, BUILD 2030 is designed around "infrastructure convergence," the idea that housing and AI infrastructure share common requirements such as land, power, transportation, entitlement expertise, construction capacity, and capital. Kaufman believes that developers who can navigate both physical and digital infrastructure will gain a significant advantage in the coming decade. "The real estate industry still tends to put everything into separate boxes: multifamily, build-to-rent, affordable housing, data centers, technology. We don't see it that way. We see land, infrastructure, housing, technology and capital increasingly colliding. BUILD 2030 is our response to that," Kaufman said. This integrated strategy could lead to more efficient land use, shared infrastructure costs, and faster project timelines, potentially reshaping how large-scale developments are planned and financed.
The initiative also emphasizes community impact, particularly in siting AI infrastructure. Rather than treating data centers as isolated industrial projects, Kaufman & Company plans to explore opportunities where infrastructure investment can support broader economic development, including workforce housing, community improvements, and local employment. "We don't want to be the developer that arrives in a community, consumes power and leaves behind a box. The better model is to ask what else our investment can unlock for the people who already live there," Kaufman stated. This community-centric approach could set a new standard for responsible development, addressing local concerns about resource use and ensuring that AI infrastructure growth benefits existing residents.
BUILD 2030 will serve as the connective strategy across Kaufman & Company's existing businesses, which include residential and mixed-use development, workforce and affordable housing, build-to-rent communities, hospitality, AI infrastructure, and a venture portfolio developing technology for the real estate industry. As the company evaluates its next generation of projects and partnerships, this initiative signals a long-term commitment to building the infrastructure around real estate. "We've spent 25 years building real estate. The next 25 will be about building the infrastructure around it," Kaufman said. For investors and communities alike, BUILD 2030 represents a forward-looking model that could influence how housing and technology infrastructure are developed in tandem, potentially accelerating solutions to both the housing crisis and the AI infrastructure boom.
