Generali Addresses the Evolving Risk Landscape of AI Infrastructure

From September 9 to 11, our Group participated in To The Peak 2026, an international startup and innovation summit held in Bolzano, in Northeast Italy, dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship, innovation, and collaboration, and that brings together key players from the European startup and investment ecosystem.

During the panel “The Energy Cost of Intelligence,” Giorgio Ripamonti, Innovation Scout and Venture Capital Manager, shared Generali’s perspective on a critical yet often overlooked dimension of the AI revolution: the rapid expansion of data centers and the emerging risk management challenges associated with this infrastructure.

While discussions around Artificial Intelligence often focuses on technological breakthroughs and business opportunities, AI is fundamentally dependent on a vast network of data centres that provide the computing power and storage underpinning its models and applications. As adoption accelerates, so too does the need for resilient, reliable infrastructure capable of supporting AI at scale.

During the session, attention was drawn to the evolving risk landscape accompanying the growth of data center infrastructure. The concentration of high-value equipment, combined with increasing interconnectivity and risk aggregation across facilities, can significantly heighten property damage and business interruption exposures, reinforcing the importance of operational continuity as a key priority.

Giorgio Ripamonti highlighted that AI should not be viewed solely as a digital innovation, but also as a physical infrastructure that depends on increasingly complex systems. As investments in data centres continue to grow, understanding and managing the associated risks will be essential to ensuring operational continuity, driving innovation, and supporting sustainable long-term growth.

The session emphasized that, alongside the opportunities AI is creating across industries, organizations must also address the risks associated with the infrastructure that enables it. In this context, insurance has an important role to play in enabling innovation by helping businesses manage emerging risks, strengthen operational resilience, and navigate an increasingly complex risk landscape.