Nandini Roy Choudhury, writer
Brief news
- Microsoft and BlackRock are collaborating to raise up to $100 billion for AI data centers and energy infrastructure through the Global Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Investment Partnership (GAIIP).
- The initiative aims to secure $30 billion in initial capital, addressing the growing demand for facilities equipped with Nvidia GPUs for generative AI.
- Microsoft’s investment supports Azure’s infrastructure expansion, while BlackRock is acquiring Global Infrastructure Partners for $3 billion.
Detailed news
Microsoft and Blackrock are among the companies that are colluding on raising up to $100 billion to construct data centers for artificial intelligence and the energy infrastructure that is required to power them.
The Global Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Investment Partnership, or GAIIP, was announced in a press release on Tuesday, and the corporations are members of it. Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), an infrastructure investor that is being acquired by BlackRock, and MGX, a technology investor in the United Arab Emirates, are the other participants.
“We are dedicated to ensuring that AI propels growth and advances innovation in all sectors of the economy,” stated Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, in a release. He stated that the initiative “unites financial and industry leaders to construct the infrastructure of the future and power it in a sustainable manner.”
The organization’s objective is to procure $30 billion in initial capital, with the ultimate objective of raising up to $100 billion through debt financing.
Tech companies have been vying to construct data centers that are replete with Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs) that are capable of running generative AI models, such as those that power OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot. Soaring demand has resulted in a bottleneck for the establishment of new facilities, as those GPUs utilize a significant amount of power.
Microsoft’s investment is in addition to the capital expenditures required to support infrastructure expansion for its Azure public cloud, which provides OpenAI and other AI customers. In July, Microsoft disclosed that its fiscal fourth-quarter capital expenditures, which encompassed assets acquired under finance leases, amounted to $19 billion.
BlackRock disclosed its intention to acquire GIP for $3 billion in cash and approximately 12 million shares of BlackRock common stock in January. BlackRock announced last week that it anticipates the transaction to be finalized on October 1.
Mubadala, an Abu Dhabi-based company, and G42, an AI firm, were the founding partners of MGX, which was established in March.
Source: CNBC News
