Wall Street giant AI investment tool is here, BlackRock partners with Microsoft to launch a $30 billion AI infrastructure fund

Author: Li Dan

Source: Hard AI

Asset management giant BlackRock is set to make a major investment in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. BlackRock announced a partnership with Microsoft to launch a massive AI-focused investment fund to meet the infrastructure and energy needs for developing AI products.

On Tuesday, September 17th, Eastern Time, BlackRock, along with Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a private equity firm focused on infrastructure investments that BlackRock announced its intention to acquire in January, Microsoft, and the AI investment company MGX jointly launched the Global AI Infrastructure Investment Partnership (GAIIP) fund. The fund will invest in the construction and expansion of data centers to meet the growing demand for computing power and to create energy infrastructure for these facilities. The investments will primarily be located in the United States to drive AI innovation and economic growth.

The announcement stated that GAIIP will support an open architecture and a wide ecosystem, providing non-exclusive comprehensive access channels for various partners and companies. The fund initially seeks to deploy $30 billion in private equity capital, including debt financing, with a total investment potential of up to $100 billion in the future. NVIDIA will provide expertise in AI data centers and AI factories for the fund. Among the founding partners, Microsoft will provide funding and expertise.

The announcement confirmed earlier media reports on Tuesday. According to the Financial Times, citing sources familiar with the matter, the fund jointly launched by BlackRock is expected to become one of the largest investment vehicles on Wall Street and will be the first major fund launched since GIP agreed to be acquired by BlackRock. Microsoft and the AI investment company MGX from Abu Dhabi are general partners of the fund, with NVIDIA providing expertise.

It is noted that BlackRock's announcement in January of its intention to acquire GIP was seen as a significant move for BlackRock to enter the private equity market. BlackRock will pay $3 billion in cash and 12 million shares of its own stock for the acquisition, with a total transaction value of approximately $12.5 billion. Last week, BlackRock disclosed that the transaction is expected to be completed on October 1st this year.

In the announcement, BlackRock's Chairman and CEO Larry Fink stated:

"Mobilizing private capital to build data centers and power AI infrastructure will unlock trillions of dollars in long-term investment opportunities. Data centers are the cornerstone of the digital economy, and these investments will help drive economic growth, create job opportunities, and promote AI technology innovation."

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella stated that Microsoft is committed to ensuring that AI contributes to driving innovation and growth across various economic sectors, and the new fund will help Microsoft achieve this vision.

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang said:

"The increasing demand for accelerated computing and generative AI is driving the need for AI infrastructure in the next industrial revolution. NVIDIA leverages its expertise as a full-stack computing platform to support GAIIP and its portfolio companies in designing and integrating AI factories to drive industry innovation."

Regarding the news about the new AI Fund, a netizen mentioned on social media platform X that Microsoft recently announced a $60 billion buyback plan, and now there is another $30 billion AI Fund, indicating that Microsoft definitely has ample cash on hand.