If you haven’t noticed by now, Big Tech companies have been making plans to invest in the infrastructure necessary to deliver generative AI products like ChatGPT (and beyond) to hundreds of millions of people around the world. That push involves building more AI-accelerating chips, more data centers, and even new nuclear plants to power those data centers, in some cases.
Along those lines, Microsoft, BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), and MGX announced a massive new AI investment partnership on Tuesday called the Global AI Infrastructure Investment Partnership (GAIIP). The partnership initially aims to raise $30 billion in private equity capital, which could later turn into $100 billion in total investment when including debt financing.
The group will invest in data centers and supporting power infrastructure for AI development. “The capital spending needed for AI infrastructure and the new energy to power it goes beyond what any single company or government can finance,” Microsoft President Brad Smith said in a statement.
Microsoft’s venture partners are notable for their deep pockets. BlackRock manages trillions in assets globally, and MGX, formed earlier this year, represents Abu Dhabi’s strategic push into AI investments, backed by substantial sovereign wealth from the United Arab Emirates.
The new fund plans to invest mostly in the US, with some money going to partner countries. Nvidia will help out by sharing what it knows about building AI data centers, but Microsoft says it will support “an open architecture and broad ecosystem” that will provide infrastructure access to many companies using vendor-neutral standards.
