Microsoft And BlackRock Lead Initiative To Raise $100 Billion For AI Data Centers And Energy Infrastructure
The GAIIP partnership is poised to accelerate the growth of AI-driven technology while focusing on sustainable energy solutions for the future.
Microsoft and BlackRock are leading a consortium of companies aiming to raise up to $100 billion to develop artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and the energy infrastructure required to power them. The collaboration, called the Global Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Investment Partnership (GAIIP), was officially announced on Tuesday.
The partnership includes infrastructure investor Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), which is being acquired by BlackRock, and MGX, a tech investor from the United Arab Emirates. Initially, the group plans to raise $30 billion, with the ultimate goal of expanding the capital pool to $100 billion, partly through debt financing.
MGX, another key player in GAIIP, was founded in March with backing from Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala and AI company G42, marking its commitment to advancing AI infrastructure development.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella emphasized the initiative’s potential to drive AI innovation across various sectors. "This partnership brings together financial and industry leaders to build the infrastructure of the future and power it sustainably," he said.
The move is driven by the increasing demand for data centers equipped with GPUs, which are essential for running AI models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. These centers require vast amounts of power, making energy infrastructure a critical component of AI expansion.
Microsoft’s involvement in GAIIP adds to its ongoing capital expenditure in expanding its Azure cloud infrastructure, which serves OpenAI and other AI customers. In July, Microsoft revealed it spent $19 billion in the fiscal fourth quarter to support infrastructure growth.
