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BlackRock and Microsoft to Launch $100bn AI Infrastructure Fund

September 18, 2024

BlackRock has announced a partnership with Microsoft to create a fund targeting up to $100 billion in investments to build the infrastructure needed to support the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI).

The Global AI Infrastructure Investment Partnership aims to attract $30 billion in private equity capital from investors, corporates, and asset owners, with the potential to mobilise $100 billion when including debt financing.

As the demand for generative AI grows, so does the need for specialist data centres capable of handling vast computing power, leading to increased energy consumption. The fund will focus on investing in new and expanded data centres to meet this demand, as well as in energy infrastructure that can provide the necessary power to run these facilities.

MGX, an Abu Dhabi-backed investment company, will serve as a general partner in the fund, while Nvidia, the leading US chip designer, will contribute expertise in AI data centres. The investments will primarily be focused on the US market.

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

Larry Fink, chairman and CEO of BlackRock, highlighted the massive potential of AI-related infrastructure investments: “Mobilising private capital to build AI infrastructure like data centres and power will unlock a multitrillion-dollar long-term investment opportunity.”

The project comes as global interest in AI continues to surge, with significant capital being funneled into the development of technologies that promise transformational productivity gains and technological breakthroughs. Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan, chairman of MGX, commented: “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.”