Google and Blackstone have announced the formation of a joint artificial intelligence cloud business venture worth an initial $5 billion in equity with a potential to reach $25 billion, including leverage, aimed at capitalising on an insatiable demand for AI computing services.
Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager, will invest an initial $5 billion in equity to help bring 500 megawatts of data centre capacity online in 2027, with further expansion planned over time.
The U.S.-based venture will provide data centre capacity along with Google’s custom AI chips, known as Tensor Processing Units, or TPUs, through a compute-as-a-service model.
According to Bloomberg, Blackstone has appointed Benjamin Sloss, a longtime Google executive, as CEO of the new venture, which both firms hope will help address growing demand for TPUs by offering organisations additional ways to access computing capacity.
Blackstone has stepped up its investments in AI-related infrastructure, including data centres, power generation and transmission assets. Those investments are valuable as the AI boom pushes operators to secure long-term energy supply deals.
The new partnership reflects rising demand for AI infrastructure and the need for large-scale capital deployment, Blackstone President Jon Gray said.
