When I reflect on my career, what I look back on most fondly is not any single company or deal. It is watching how far so many of my former colleagues have traveled—and how much of this industry they now build and lead. And it is the jobs and economic activity that this community has created and sustained, year after year, across Colorado. That, in many ways, is the story of how Colorado became one of the most important hubs of AI infrastructure in the world.
As AI reshapes the global economy, the infrastructure beneath it—bandwidth, data centers, the power that runs them, and the cybersecurity that protects them—is becoming decisive. Colorado sits at the physical center of that build-out.
A Tale of Two Companies
Zayo—founded in Boulder and headquartered in Denver—is arguably the largest bandwidth infrastructure provider in the world. By completing the acquisition of Crown Castle’s fiber business in May 2026—the largest of its 50 acquisitions—it extended its network to approximately 224,000 route miles. As Zayo’s founder, I take real pride in the team getting that deal done, and in the company’s recent announcements reflecting its growing AI infrastructure commercial momentum.
Lumen Technologies, the successor to Colorado-headquartered Level 3 Communications, stands alongside Zayo as one of the two largest bandwidth infrastructure providers in North America. Together, Zayo and Lumen make Colorado the clear leader in bandwidth infrastructure.
This story is part of a paid subscription. Please subscribe for immediate access.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dan Caruso is Managing Director of Caruso Ventures, a prominent investment firm focusing on quantum technology and space tech. A three-time Decacorn entrepreneur, Caruso shares his expertise with aspiring innovators through numerous organizations. Dedicated to supporting the entrepreneurial community, he also currently serves on the boards of Elevate Quantum (a designated US Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration Tech Hub focused on supporting quantum technologies) and Colorado Thrives (an organization dedicated to advancing economic mobility for Coloradans) and is Chairman of the Board of Endeavor Colorado (a global community for high-growth scaling entrepreneurs).
Previously, Caruso was Founding Partner, Chairman, and CEO of Zayo Group Holdings, Inc., where investors enjoyed a 8.5 billion USD equity exit on a one billion USD investment. Other career highlights include co-founding executive roles at Level 3 Communications and leadership positions at Metropolitan Fiber Systems (MFS), both of which achieved multi-billion-dollar enterprise values. Caruso also spearheaded the 2004 take-private of ICG Communications, which achieved a remarkable 25x return and led to the ideation of Zayo. Caruso holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois.
