Microsoft, BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), and MGX are collaborating to assemble up to $100 billion for developing data centers dedicated to artificial intelligence (AI) and the necessary energy infrastructure to power them. This initiative is part of the Global AI Infrastructure Investment Partnership (GAIIP), as announced in a press release.
Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, emphasized the company’s commitment to leveraging AI to drive innovation and economic growth. Nadella highlighted the partnership’s role in uniting financial and industry leaders to build future infrastructure sustainably.
The consortium aims to generate an initial $30 billion in capital with the prospect of expanding to $100 billion through additional funding, including debt financing. The demand for data centers equipped with Nvidia GPUs capable of running generative AI models, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, has surged. These GPUs are known for their significant power requirements, leading to bottlenecks in establishing new facilities.
Microsoft’s contribution builds on its capital expenditures, including those for extending its Azure public cloud infrastructure, which supports OpenAI and other AI clients. In the fiscal fourth quarter, Microsoft reported capital spending of $19 billion, inclusive of assets acquired under finance leases.
In January, BlackRock announced its intention to acquire GIP for $3 billion in cash and approximately 12 million shares of BlackRock common stock. The deal’s closure is anticipated on October 1, as confirmed by BlackRock last week.
MGX, a tech investor from the United Arab Emirates, was launched in March with Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala and AI firm G42 as founding partners.
