Contract templates for capacity deals.
Examples of how each way to rent out a datacenter, powered land or GPUs can be put on paper, with a plain-language guide to how the model works and what to negotiate. Read them free; download the Word file with a free account.
Examples to adapt, not legal advice. Have your own lawyer review any agreement before you sign it.
Ways to rent out capacity
The same site can earn money in different ways. They differ mainly in how it is priced, how long it runs and who carries the risk of capacity standing empty.
| Model | The customer gets | Priced by | Usual term | Who carries empty capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail colocation | Racks or a cage in a shared hall, with power, cooling and security | Per rack or per kW each month; power metered or included | Usually one to three years | The operator: it fills the hall customer by customer |
| Wholesale whitespace | A dedicated hall or suite with committed IT load | Per kW of committed capacity each month, energy passed through | Usually five to fifteen years | The customer: it pays for what it committed to, used or not |
| Powered shell | A building with grid power delivered; the customer fits it out | Rent per m² or per MW of reserved grid capacity | Usually ten years or more | The customer, once the lease starts |
| Pre-lease / build-to-suit | Capacity built to its specification, taken on completion | As wholesale, agreed before construction; delay remedies if late | Usually ten years or more from handover | Shared: the customer commits before it is built, the developer carries delivery risk |
| Powered land option | Exclusive right to lease or buy land with grid capacity | An option fee, then ground rent per hectare or per MW secured | Option for one to three years, then a long ground lease | The developer, which pays for the option whether or not it builds |
| Reserved GPU capacity | Dedicated bare-metal GPU nodes for a committed term | Per GPU-hour or per node-month, with a committed minimum | Usually six months to three years | The customer: it pays the commitment, used or not |
| On-demand GPU compute | GPU capacity when available, billed by use | Per GPU-hour, with discounts for committed spend | No minimum, or a committed-spend period | The provider: idle GPUs earn nothing |
| Hosting revenue share | Space, power and cooling for a partner's GPU servers | A share of the partner's compute revenue, often with a minimum fee | Usually three to seven years | Shared: both earn more when the GPUs are busy |
General market practice for orientation. Every deal is negotiated.
Deal documents
Used in almost every deal, whatever the model.
- Mutual non-disclosure agreementBoth sides protect what they share while they look at a deal: sites, designs, prices and customers. Includes non-solicitation and an optional non-circumvention clause.For both sides
- Letter of intent (heads of terms)Write down the main commercial terms of a colocation, powered shell, powered land or GPU deal before the full contract is drafted. Non-binding on the deal itself, binding on confidentiality, exclusivity, costs and governing law.For both sides
- Service level scheduleMeasurable promises on power, cooling, network, GPU nodes and remote hands, attached to a colocation, whitespace or GPU agreement. Sets how availability is measured, the service credits for a miss, and the exit right for persistent failure.For both sides
Whitespace and colocation
Renting out space and power in a built datacenter.
- Retail colocation agreementMaster terms and order forms for racks and cages in a shared hall: space, power, cooling, security, remote hands and cross-connects, with metered or all-in power pricing.For operators
- Wholesale whitespace agreementA dedicated hall or suite with committed IT load, a ramp schedule and a ready-for-service date. Take-or-pay capacity charge per kW, energy passed through at cost with a PUE factor, and long-term protections for both sides.For operators
- Powered shell leaseA long lease of a building with grid power delivered to it, where the tenant does its own data centre fit-out. Covers reserved grid capacity, landlord and tenant works, rent per m² or per MW, energy supply, subletting to colocation customers and reinstatement.For operators
Build and land
Capacity that is still to be built, and land with a grid connection.
- Pre-lease and build-to-suit agreementFor capacity that is not yet built: the developer builds to an agreed specification by a guaranteed date, and the customer commits to take the capacity on completion under a wholesale agreement in agreed form.For both sides
- Option to lease powered landA landowner with a grid connection or grid application gives a developer an exclusive option to take a long ground lease of the land (or to buy it), while the developer carries out due diligence and secures permits.For operators
AI and GPU compute
Selling GPU capacity, reserved, on demand or in partnership.
- Reserved GPU capacity agreementA customer reserves dedicated bare-metal GPU nodes for a committed term and pays for them whether used or not. Covers delivery and acceptance testing, take-or-pay pricing, prepayment, failed-node replacement, secure wipe and hardware substitution.For operators
- On-demand GPU compute agreementMaster terms for pay-as-you-go GPU compute, billed per GPU-hour through a console or order form, with optional monthly reservations, prepaid credits and committed-spend discounts. Includes data processing terms for the provider as processor.For operators
- Hosting and revenue-share agreementThe datacenter owner provides space, power, cooling and connectivity; a compute partner installs and runs GPU servers and sells compute to its own customers. The owner takes a share of the revenue, with an optional minimum fee, instead of or on top of a fixed hosting fee.For operators
Ready to put a deal on paper?
Templates help once there is a counterparty. Operators find theirs through scored, anonymous requests; buyers by placing one.
This is a template to start from, not legal advice. Laws differ between countries; have a qualified lawyer review and adapt it before use. AICapacity is not a party to agreements made from it.