Texas Pacific Land and Bolt Data & Energy Form Strategic Partnership to Build Large-Scale Data Center Campuses in West Texas
Texas Pacific Land Corporation (NYSE: TPL), one of the largest private landowners in the state of Texas, has announced a strategic agreement with Bolt Data & Energy, Inc. (Bolt) aimed at developing and enabling large-scale data center campuses and the supporting energy and infrastructure required to operate them. The collaboration will leverage TPL’s extensive land holdings in West Texas to support next-generation digital infrastructure designed to meet the rapidly growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, and high-performance data processing.
Bolt Data & Energy is a data and energy infrastructure company co-founded by Eric Schmidt, the former Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Google. Schmidt currently serves as Chairman of Bolt and is closely involved in shaping the company’s long-term vision. Bolt’s core mission is to shorten the time between rising demand for compute capacity and the delivery of reliable, scalable infrastructure capable of supporting advanced AI workloads and data-intensive applications.
Under the terms of the agreement, Bolt plans to develop large-scale data center campuses on land owned by Texas Pacific Land Corporation, supported by integrated power and water infrastructure. These campuses are intended to operate at significant scale, positioning West Texas as a major hub for AI compute and digital infrastructure in North America.
Eric Schmidt emphasized the strategic importance of combining land, energy, and data infrastructure into a unified platform. “Our goal is to create the largest and most efficient data center 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. “By partnering with TPL, Bolt will fuel the Fourth Industrial Revolution and protect and augment American leadership in artificial intelligence.”
A key component of the partnership is Bolt’s recent capital raise of $150 million. As part of this financing, Texas Pacific Land invested $50 million, securing an equity stake in Bolt along with warrants. In addition, TPL received a right of first refusal to supply water to Bolt-affiliated projects and related infrastructure, reinforcing the strategic alignment between the two companies. Access to reliable water resources is a critical factor in large-scale data center development, particularly in energy-intensive environments, and TPL’s water expertise adds a significant competitive advantage to the partnership.
Bolt is actively pursuing commercial partnerships and anchor customers to support the development of these data center campuses. The company’s approach focuses not only on data infrastructure but also on power generation, ensuring reliable, long-term energy supply for high-demand computing operations. According to Schmidt, Bolt plans to rely on a diversified power strategy that includes natural gas-fueled generation, renewable energy sources, and, over time, nuclear power. This multi-source energy approach is designed to provide resilience, scalability, and cost efficiency while meeting evolving sustainability and reliability requirements.
“Bolt is focused on shortening the time between demand and delivery of compute at scale,” Schmidt added. “To be a reliable provider, Bolt will also focus on power production: natural gas-fueled, renewable, and ultimately, nuclear. TPL’s vast West Texas holdings and their expertise in land, energy, water, and regulatory execution make them a uniquely capable partner.”
From TPL’s perspective, the agreement represents a major opportunity to expand the use of its land beyond traditional energy and infrastructure applications and into the rapidly growing digital economy. Ty Glover, Chief Executive Officer of Texas Pacific Land Corporation, highlighted the strategic significance of the collaboration and the broader potential of the region.
“Bolt represents a significant step forward in bringing world-class technology infrastructure to West Texas,” Glover said. “With an unmatched supply of both conventional fuel and renewable power, West Texas is already a global leader in energy production. The region also benefits from a skilled workforce, a supportive regulatory environment, available water resources, and a strong entrepreneurial culture.”
Glover noted that these attributes position West Texas to become one of the largest concentrations of AI compute infrastructure in the world. Combined with TPL’s ownership of nearly one million acres of land, the partnership with Bolt is designed to help unlock that potential at scale. He also emphasized Bolt’s leadership and experience, stating that the company’s proven track record in building transformative technology platforms makes it an ideal partner for TPL.
Texas Pacific Land Corporation is uniquely positioned to support such large-scale developments. The company owns approximately 882,000 acres of land, with the majority concentrated in the Permian Basin, one of the most energy-rich regions in the United States. While TPL is not an oil and gas producer, its surface and royalty ownership generates diversified revenue streams throughout the lifecycle of energy and infrastructure projects.
TPL’s revenue opportunities include fixed-fee payments for land use, sales of caliche and other materials used in infrastructure construction, and the sourcing and treatment of water, including produced water. The company also earns revenue from oil and gas royalty interests, saltwater disposal operations, and easements for pipelines, power lines, and utilities. Additional income is generated through commercial leases and temporary permits related to a wide range of land uses, including midstream infrastructure and hydrocarbon processing facilities.
By expanding into data center development through its partnership with Bolt, TPL is extending its land and infrastructure model into a new, high-growth sector. The agreement reflects a broader convergence of energy, land, water, and digital infrastructure as demand for AI and high-performance computing continues to accelerate.
Together, Texas Pacific Land and Bolt Data & Energy aim to create a scalable platform capable of supporting the next wave of digital transformation. By combining West Texas’ abundant resources with advanced data and energy infrastructure, the partnership seeks to position the region—and the United States more broadly—at the forefront of global AI and compute development.
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