GDS vs OWL Comparison

GDS Holdings started as an IT service provider in 2001, then moved to the data center business with its first self-developed data center opening in 2010. The company now develops and operates data centers in China and also builds, operates, and transfers data centers for other clients. It offers colocation and managed services and mainly targets hyperscale cloud service customers who take large areas of its data centers or even whole data centers under long-term contracts. Its data centers are located predominantly in and around the Tier 1 cities in China, and it has also started expanding into Southeast Asia via the now 23% owned DayOne. GDS listed on the Nasdaq in 2016 and completed a secondary listing in Hong Kong in 2020.

Blue Owl Capital is one of the world's largest alternative-asset managers, $307.4 billion in total managed assets, including $187.7 billion in fee-earning AUM, at the end of 2025. The company has three core business segments: global private equity, (with $69.1 billion in total AUM and $39.5 billion in fee-earning AUM), private credit ($157.7 billion/$99.5 billion), and real estate/real assets ($80.6 billion/$48.7 billion). The firm primarily serves institutional investors (68% of AUM) and high-net-worth individuals (32%). Blue Owl operates through more than 20 offices in the Americas, and the EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions.