Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks at the company’s Build developer conference in Seattle on May 21, 2024.
Jason Redmond | AFP | Getty Images
Microsoft And Slat is part of a group of companies that are teaming up to raise up to $100 billion to develop data centers for artificial intelligence and the energy infrastructure to power them.
The companies are part of the Global AI Infrastructure Investment Partnership (GAIIP), which is announced in a press release on Tuesday. Other participants include Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), an infrastructure investor being acquired by BlackRock, and MGX, a technology investor in the United Arab Emirates.
“We are committed to ensuring AI helps drive innovation and drive growth across every sector of the economy,” said the Microsoft CEO. Satya Nadellain a statement. He said the initiative “brings together financial and industry leaders to build the infrastructure of the future and deliver energy in a sustainable way.”
The group aims to raise $30 billion in initial capital, with a future goal of raising up to $100 billion, including from debt financing.
Tech companies are racing to build full-scale data centers. Nvidia Graphics processing units (GPUs) can run generative AI models like those that power OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot. Those GPUs consume serious powerand rising demand has created obstacles to building new facilities.
Microsoft’s investment comes on top of the capital expenditures needed to support the expansion of its Azure public cloud infrastructure, which it provides to OpenAI and other AI customers. Microsoft said in July that capital expenditures in its fourth fiscal quarter, including assets purchased under finance leases, totaled $19 billion.
In January BlackRock announced intention to acquire GIP for $3 billion in cash and approximately 12 million shares of BlackRock common stock. BlackRock speak last week that they hope the deal will be completed by October 1.
MGX is has been released in March, with Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala and AI firm G42 as founding partners.
