BlackRock and Microsoft to launch $100bn AI infrastructure fund

BlackRock is teaming up with Microsoft to launch a fund that aims to invest up to $100 billion in data centres and energy infrastructure needed to support the artificial intelligence boom.

The partnership will initially seek to attract $30 billion of private equity capital from investors, asset owners and corporates. They expect the fund to mobilise up to $100 billion in total investment potential when including debt financing.

Generative AI is driving demand for specialist data centres that power the technology. The centres require significant computing power, leading to higher energy consumption.

• Generative AI is an opportunity, not a threat

The investment vehicle, known as Global AI Infrastructure Investment Partnership, will make investments in new and expanded data centres “to meet growing demand for computing power, as well as energy infrastructure to create new sources of power for these facilities”, the partners said in a statement.

MGX, the Abu Dhabi-backed investment company, will be a general partner in the fund. Nvidia, the US chip designer, will provide expertise in AI data centres. The investments will primarily be in the US.

“The capital spending needed for AI infrastructure and the new energy to power it goes beyond what any single company or government can finance,” Brad Smith, vice-chairman and president of Microsoft, said . “This financial partnership will not only help advance technology, but enhance national competitiveness, security, and economic prosperity.”

Larry Fink, chairman and chief executive of BlackRock, said: “Mobilising private capital to build AI infrastructure like data centres and power will unlock a multitrillion-dollar long-term investment opportunity.”

MGX was established earlier this year, specifically to invest in AI. Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan, chairman of MGX , said: “Artificial intelligence is not just an industry of the future, it underpins the future. Through this unique partnership, we will enable faster innovation, technological breakthroughs and transformational productivity gains across the global economy.”

The Financial Times first reported on the planned fund.