Hunter Newby is making a big bet on internet exchange points in underserved mid-sized American cities. In a wide-ranging interview with Cool Vector, the founder of Newby Ventures says he predicts the same infrastructure model that proved highly profitable in tier-one markets over the past 25 years will generate recurring, high-margin returns in lower-tiered regions when they finally come online.

Key takeaways from Cool Vector's interview with Newby on the sidelines of the 2026 Pacific Telecommunications Conference in Honolulu:

• Tier-three cities represent the next frontier for neutral interconnection. While the rest of the market chases gigawatt-scale data centers, Newby is quietly building purpose-built meet-me rooms in the 125-plus mid-sized American cities that still lack a neutral interconnection facility and an internet exchange point.

• The large data center boom is heading toward a reckoning and the "magical thinking" of newer market entrants will become evident.

• Inference, not training, is what will drive the next wave of interconnection demand. As AI shifts from model training to real-time low-latency inference, the physical proximity of GPU clusters and the fiber connecting them becomes critical.

Access the full transcript and a searchable archive of interviews on Cool Vector Substack: https://coolvector.substack.com/p/bullish-on-interconnection-in-tier

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