Strategic focus on securing shovel-ready, powered land positions Jet.AI at the earliest, highest potential-upside stage of the data center development lifecycle
LAS VEGAS, Aug. 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Jet.AI Inc. (NASDAQ: JTAI) (“Jet.AI” or the “Company”), an emerging provider of high-performance GPU infrastructure and AI cloud services, today highlighted the strategic value of its developing data center portfolio, which represents more than 1 GW of potential capacity across four North American sites. These projects are focused on the upstream layer of the AI infrastructure value chain where land, power, and entitlements are secured before hyperscale construction begins, representing some of the most valuable and supply-constrained assets in that value chain.
Jet.AI is advancing a portfolio spanning more than 1 GW of combined potential capacity across four active projects:
These developing projects reflect Jet.AI’s deliberate strategy of partnering with experienced developers to control the scarcest inputs (powered, entitled land) rather than competing solely in the later, more capital-intensive stages of campus construction and lease-up. Advancing these projects to the powered-land stage can unlock substantial value relative to modest capital outlays, with further upside available through build-out, refinancing, or long-term structures such as REIT-style exits.
“Powered land has become one of the scarcest and most strategically important assets in the AI infrastructure buildout,” said Michael Winston, Founder and Executive Chairman of Jet.AI. “Our initiatives are designed to control that scarce resource at the stage where the largest relative value creation historically occurs. We believe this focus, combined with disciplined capital deployment and strong development partners, offers shareholders exposure to the foundational layer of the AI data center opportunity with one of the highest upside potential.”
Industry Context: Powered Land Has Emerged as a Critical Data Center Asset
Early-stage data center companies and projects focused on land assemblage, power interconnection rights, entitlements, and site readiness are valued primarily on scarcity and optionality rather than near-term cash flow. In today’s market, the binding constraint is not capital or hyperscaler demand, but access to reliable, timely power. Grid interconnection queues in many key markets stretch multiple years, making sites with firm or near-term power commitments disproportionately valuable.
Valuations at this stage commonly reference metrics such as dollars per megawatt of potential capacity, premiums to agricultural or industrial land values, or total project enterprise value once powered and entitled. Powered or “shovel-ready” land frequently commands premiums of 2-4 times (and in constrained markets, 5-10 times or more) relative to comparable non-powered parcels. In extreme cases, successful entitlement and power securing could produce multi-fold value increases within relatively short periods as risk is removed and the asset becomes financeable and attractive to hyperscalers or institutional capital.
As projects progress, valuations typically expand for several interconnected reasons:
- Risk reduction and de-risking milestones: Securing grid interconnection agreements, zoning/entitlements, environmental approvals, and fiber routes converts speculative land into a deliverable asset, sharply lowering execution uncertainty.
- Scarcity of power-ready sites: Explosive AI-driven demand has outpaced new power capacity additions. Sites that can deliver power years earlier than competitors typically attract premium pricing from hyperscalers seeking speed-to-market.
- Capital efficiency and leverage-ability: Once powered and entitled, projects support higher leverage, lower cost of capital, and clearer paths to construction financing, refinancing at more attractive capitalization rates (often in the mid-single digits for stabilized assets), or portfolio exits.
- Market re-rating and multiple expansion: Fully developed, leased data centers are commonly valued on net operating income (NOI) multiples or enterprise value per MW (frequently in the multi-million-dollar range per MW depending on location, power costs, and tenant quality). Early-stage developers capture a meaningful portion of that ultimate value by controlling the upstream bottleneck.
- Strategic and competitive dynamics: Hyperscalers and large operators traditionally have been willing to pay up for certainty of delivery. Land with proven power paths shortens time-to-revenue and reduces the opportunity cost of delayed capacity.
Asset value tends to compound as projects advance through each stage of development: from raw or optionality-stage land, to entitled status, to powered and interconnected, to under construction, and ultimately to stabilized lease operation. The earliest stages of this continuum typically generate the highest risk-adjusted returns, as relatively modest capital deployment can produce substantial subsequent revaluations, driven by the structural scarcity of power-ready land.
Jet.AI’s strategy of concentrating capital deployment on the powered-land and early-development phase across multiple North American markets is directly aligned with this value-creation pathway. By securing sites that possess distinct power advantages and by partnering with experienced developers for execution, the Company seeks to position its interests for meaningful appreciation as key development milestones are achieved.
About Jet.AI Inc.
Jet.AI Inc. (NASDAQ: JTAI) is a technology-driven company focused on deploying artificial intelligence tools and high-performance GPU infrastructure to enhance decision-making, efficiency, and performance across complex systems. The Company is listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the ticker symbol "JTAI." To learn more, visit www.jet.ai.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including the safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, with respect to the products and services offered by Jet.AI and the markets in which it operates, Jet.AI's projected future results, and Jet.AI's perception of market conditions, including the expected timing of the potential transactions and the future business strategy of Jet.AI. Statements that are not historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or our future performance or future financial condition. These forward-looking statements are not historical facts, but rather are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about our Company, our industry, our beliefs and our assumptions. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words "believe," "project," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "strategy," "future," "opportunity," "plan," "may," "should," "will," "would," "will be," "will continue," "will likely result," and similar expressions or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the expected results. As a result, caution must be exercised in relying on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they were made. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements can be found in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and Jet.AI assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as provided by law.
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