Microsoft-BlackRock team to raise $100B for AI data centers

AFP

SAN FRANCISCO — Microsoft and investment powerhouse BlackRock on Tuesday said they have teamed up to raise as much as $100 billion for data centers and infrastructure to power artificial intelligence.

The alliance includes Global Infrastructure Partners and the advanced technology investment firm MGX, created in Abu Dhabi this year, according to a joint release.

“We are committed to ensuring AI helps advance innovation and drives growth across every sector of the economy,” said Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella. “The Global AI Infrastructure Investment Partnership will help us deliver on this vision.”

Microsoft has invested heavily in artificial intelligence, including pouring more than $10 billion into ChatGPT-maker OpenAI.

“The capital spending needed for AI infrastructure and the new energy to power it goes beyond what any single company or government can finance,” said Microsoft president Brad Smith.

The partnership will initially seek $30 billion of private equity capital from investors, looking to ramp up that amount as high as $100 billion including debt financing, according to the companies.

Investments in expanding or building data centers and creating new sources of power for them will be mostly focused in the United States, with the remainder made in US partner countries, according to the group.

Leading AI chip maker Nvidia will support the partnership with expertise, and Microsoft will provide technical advice along with funding, the release said.

“Accelerated computing and generative AI are driving a growing need for AI infrastructure for the next industrial revolution,” Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang said in the release.