A consortium of Nvidia, Microsoft, BlackRock and xAI , the company founded by Elon Musk , announced on Wednesday an agreement to acquire Aligned Data Centers for a total value of $40 billion .
Aligned, which specializes in the design and management of data centers and technology campuses in North and South America , is currently controlled by Macquarie Asset Management .
According to the companies involved, the transaction will be led by MGX , an Abu Dhabi -based company and member of BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners and AI Infrastructure Partners (AIP) . The agreement involves the acquisition of 100% of Aligned , in what is considered the largest transaction ever in the global data center industry .
Founded in September 2024 , AIP is a joint venture created by BlackRock, MGX, Microsoft, and Nvidia to foster the development and enhancement of artificial intelligence infrastructure. The project’s partners also include Kuwait Investment Authority, xAI , and Temasek .
The acquisition of Aligned represents AIP’s first formal investment and a significant step toward its goal of dedicating $30 billion in equity capital to AI infrastructure.
“With our investment in Aligned Data Centers, we are pursuing our mission of building the infrastructure needed for the future of AI, offering clients a tangible opportunity to participate in its growth,” said Larry Fink , CEO of BlackRock and chairman of AIP.
In recent years, major technology companies have stepped up efforts to build infrastructure capable of supporting the growing demand for AI services. Companies such as OpenAI, Nvidia, CoreWeave , and Oracle are signing large-scale agreements to expand computing capacity and build new data processing hubs, which will require unprecedented financial and energy resources.
Data centers , true digital hubs, house the servers and equipment needed to handle complex workloads and train large-scale AI models. Aligned currently operates 50 campuses with a total of more than 5 gigawatts of operational and planned capacity .
The transaction is expected to close by the end of next year , subject to the completion of regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
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