Microsoft, BlackRock form GAIIP to invest in AI data center, energy

Microsoft and BlackRock is part of a group of companies collaborating to attract up to $100 billion to develop data centers for artificial intelligence and energy infrastructure to power them.

The company is part of the Global AI Infrastructure Investment Partnership (GAIIP), which was announced in a press release on Tuesday. Other participants are Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), an infrastructure investor bought by BlackRock, and MGX, a technology investor in the United Arab Emirates.

“We are committed to ensuring AI helps advance innovation and drive growth in every sector of the economy,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, in a statement. He said the initiative brings “financial and industry leaders together to build the infrastructure of the future and strengthen it in a sustainable way.”

The group aims to raise $30 billion in initial capital, with the future goal of raising up to $100 billion, including from debt financing.

Tech companies have been racing to build a full data center Nvidia a graphics processing unit (GPU) that can run generative AI models such as those that enable the ChatGPT OpenAI chatbot. These GPUs consume serious power, and the rising demand has created a bottleneck for new facilities.

Microsoft’s investment exceeds the capital expenditures needed to support infrastructure expansion for the Azure public cloud, which serves OpenAI and other AI customers. Microsoft said in July that its fiscal fourth quarter capital expenditures, including assets acquired under finance leases, totaled $19 billion.

In January BlackRock announced its intention to acquire GIP for $3 billion in cash and around 12 million shares of BlackRock common stock. BlackRock said last week that it expects the deal to close on October 1.

MGX was launched in March, with Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala and AI firm G42 as founding partners.

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