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Microsoft, BlackRock aim for US$30 billion AI investment with Abu Dhabi’s MGX

The Global AI Infrastructure Investment Partnership, which also includes Nvidia, will invest in data storage and energy projects

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Microsoft has teamed up with BlackRock and other partners to invest in data centres and energy projects to support AI development. Photo: Reuters
BlackRock and Microsoft are teaming up on one of the largest efforts to date to bankroll the buildout of data warehouses and energy infrastructure behind the boom in artificial intelligence (AI).
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The companies, along with the United Arab Emirates’ MGX investment vehicle, will seek US$30 billion of private equity capital over time for the strategy, which will then leverage the money to as much as US$100 billion in potential investments, the companies announced Tuesday.

“The need to build out data centres globally is multi-trillions of dollars to finance,” BlackRock chief executive officer Larry Fink said in an interview, adding that the Global AI Infrastructure Investment Partnership has been months in the making. “This is just a great example of the capital markets building out infrastructure and building out the opportunities and new technologies.”

The infrastructure investments – including energy projects – will be mostly in the US, with a portion of the funds to be deployed in US partner countries, the companies said in a statement. The plan includes bringing on additional investors, and pensions and insurers are eager for such long-term infrastructure investments, Fink said.

“We don’t believe it will be a difficult task,” he said of raising the money.

The BlackRock headquarters in Manhattan, New York. Photo: Reuters
The BlackRock headquarters in Manhattan, New York. Photo: Reuters
The group includes Bayo Ogunlesi’s Global Infrastructure Partners, the money manager BlackRock is acquiring for about US$12.5 billion, Abu Dhabi’s MGX, which was created this year specifically to invest in AI, and Nvidia, the chip maker that will support the coalition with its expertise in AI data centres and factories.
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