"The deal to buy Aligned, which is is owned by Macquarie Asset Management, is being inked by the AI Infrastructure Partnership (AIP)-a coalition formed in September 2024 by BlackRock, its infrastructure arm Global Infrastructure Partners, as well as Microsoft, Nvidia, and MGX, an AI investment firm backed by Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund Mubadala. The Kuwait Investment Authority, xAI and Temasek joined as additional participants."
"The AIP was formed to invest up to $30 billion of equity capital in AI, data centers and energy; this is its first deal, which ranks as one of BlackRock's largest infrastructure investments to date. If completed, it would be among the largest data center transactions on record, and regardless it underscores how Wall Street is racing to claim a stake in the AI boom."
"Fink has rejected the idea that AI infrastructure spending represents a dangerous bubble, arguing that massive data center build-outs are essential if the U.S. is to remain the global leader. "Well, there's a bubble in investing," he said on CNBC Squawk Box yesterday. "But are we inferring a bubble means a bad thing? There is certainly a skyrocketing amount of capital being put to work. If you put it in a framework of geopolitical positioning, we as a country need these investments if we're going to be the leader in AI technology.""
A BlackRock-led investor group agreed to buy Aligned Data Centers in a $40 billion transaction. The buyer group is the AI Infrastructure Partnership (AIP), formed in September 2024 by BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners, Microsoft, Nvidia, and MGX, with additional participants including the Kuwait Investment Authority, xAI, and Temasek. AIP aims to invest up to $30 billion of equity capital in AI, data centers, and energy. This purchase is AIP's first deal and one of BlackRock's largest infrastructure investments to date. Larry Fink said heavy AI infrastructure investment is necessary for U.S. leadership rather than a damaging bubble. Aligned operates facilities across the U.S., Mexico, Brazil, and Chile.
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