BlackRock is preparing to launch an artificial intelligence investment fund of more than $30 billion with tech giant Microsoft to build data centers and energy projects to meet the growing demand brought by artificial intelligence, people familiar with the matter said.
BlackRock will launch the fund together with its new infrastructure investment unit Global Infrastructure Partners, which will be one of the largest investment vehicles ever launched on Wall Street. Microsoft and Abu Dhabi-backed investment company MGX are general partners of the fund. People familiar with the matter also said that chipmaker Nvidia will provide expertise.
The investment vehicle aims to address the staggering power and digital infrastructure needs to build artificial intelligence products, which are expected to face severe capacity bottlenecks in the coming years. The computing power of artificial intelligence requires more energy than previous technological innovations and strains existing energy infrastructure. (FT)