A SoftBank-backed data-center company is seeking to raise up to $5 billion in a U.S. initial public offering, according to people familiar with the situation, in a test of investor appetite for artificial-intelligence-related stocks in the world's busiest equity-fundraising market.

DayOne Data Centers plans to list its American depositary shares on the Nasdaq by the end of the year, these people said. The company filed its IPO prospectus to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday.

DayOne declined to comment.

Apart from SoftBank, the data-center operator is backed by major investors such Coatue Management, Hillhouse and Citadel.

The Singapore-based company recorded a more than threefold increase in first-half revenue to $512.0 million compared with the year prior, according to the SEC filing. Net loss for the period widened to $81.9 million from $13.5 million.

DayOne, previously known as GDS International, was a consolidated subsidiary of Chinese data-center operator GDS Holdings before spinning off. It rebranded itself as DayOne last year, and GDS retains a minority stake.

In early June, DayOne said it raised $4.5 billion in a Series C equity financing, which it will use to accelerate its expansion in markets in Asia and Europe.

Despite rising market volatility and more selective AI investing, strong demand for infrastructure continues to drive hyperscalers and AI companies to pour billions of dollars into data centers and computing capacity as they race to expand their AI capabilities.

So far this year, the U.S. has remained the world's leading market for technology companies seeking to tap public investors, drawing companies from across the globe and helping them raise billions of dollars to fund growth. The depth of the U.S. equity markets and its large base of institutional investors have made the country a preferred destination for companies looking to go public.

The number of IPOs in the U.S. market reached 208 in the first half of the year, raising $137.90 billion in total proceeds, according to SEC data. That was driven primarily by SpaceX's $75 billion offering in June.

Since its establishment in 2022, DayOne has expanded its footprint across Asia and Europe, with a presence in Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Finland and Spain, among other markets.

DayOne ​plans to ⁠use the IPO proceeds for purposes including developing and constructing new data-center projects.

Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, BofA Securities and Citigroup are underwriters of the IPO.