BlackRock and Nvidia-Backed Group Seal $40B Deal to Power AI Boom

• An investment consortium called the Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Partnership (AIP), featuring BlackRock (BLK), Nvidia (NVDA), xAI, and Microsoft (MSFT), has agreed to acquire Aligned Data Centers for $40 billion to bolster AI infrastructure.
• AIP aims to deploy an initial $30 billion in equity capital, potentially expanding to $100 billion with debt, marking this as its first investment, with closure expected in the first half of 2026.
• Aligned’s portfolio includes 50 campuses and over 5 gigawatts of capacity across the U.S. and Latin America, aligning with broader industry moves like OpenAI’s 26-gigawatt capacity deals and Nvidia’s up to $100 billion investment in the startup.

In a landmark move that signals the escalating competition for artificial intelligence infrastructure, an investment consortium comprising BlackRock (BLK), Nvidia (NVDA), xAI, and Microsoft (MSFT) has agreed to acquire Aligned Data Centers for $40 billion. This transaction, announced on Wednesday, highlights the urgent demand for expansive, reliable data center capacity amid the rapid advancement of AI technologies, where power-intensive computing resources have become a critical bottleneck for innovation.

The consortium, formally known as the Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Partnership (AIP), represents a strategic alliance aimed at addressing these constraints through substantial capital deployment. AIP plans to commit an initial $30 billion in equity, with the capacity to scale up to $100 billion when incorporating debt financing. This acquisition marks AIP’s inaugural investment, underscoring its focus on hyperscale data centers tailored for AI workloads. The deal is slated to close in the first half of 2026, allowing the partners to integrate Aligned’s operations swiftly into their broader AI ecosystem strategies.

Aligned Data Centers, a key player in designing, constructing, and managing facilities for hyperscalers, neocould providers, and enterprises, brings significant scale to the table. Its portfolio encompasses 50 campuses across the United States and Latin America, delivering more than 5 gigawatts of operational and planned capacity, including projects under development. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Aligned will continue to operate under the leadership of CEO Andrew Schaap, ensuring continuity in its specialized expertise in energy-efficient, high-density environments essential for training and deploying large-scale AI models.

This acquisition arrives against a backdrop of aggressive expansions in compute resources, as industry leaders vie to secure the foundational hardware powering next-generation AI. For instance, OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, has recently secured agreements for approximately 26 gigawatts of computing capacity – equivalent to the energy needs of roughly 20 million U.S. homes. Building on this momentum, OpenAI disclosed a 6-gigawatt AI chip supply agreement with AMD (AMD), complete with an option to acquire a stake in the semiconductor firm. Just days prior, it revealed Nvidia’s commitment to invest up to $100 billion in the startup, alongside supplying data center systems boasting at least 10 gigawatts of capacity. These developments illustrate a broader trend where AI frontrunners are not only procuring raw compute power but also forging equity-linked partnerships to lock in long-term supply chains.

AIP’s formation further diversifies this landscape, with anchor investors including the Kuwait Investment Authority and Singapore’s Temasek adding sovereign wealth muscle to the venture. “With this investment in Aligned Data Centers, we further our goal of delivering the infrastructure necessary to power the future of AI,” stated Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock and chairman of AIP. Such collaborations reflect a maturing AI sector where financial heavyweights and tech giants converge to mitigate risks associated with surging electricity demands and material shortages, ultimately accelerating the deployment of transformative models that could redefine industries from healthcare to autonomous systems. As AIP scales its investments, it positions itself as a pivotal force in sustaining the AI boom, ensuring that infrastructure keeps pace with algorithmic ambition.

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