Technology giant Microsoft Corporation MSFT is teaming up with investment company BlackRock and several other partners on a new $30 billion investment fund to target the growing artificial intelligence sector.
What Happened: The new investment, which adds to Microsoft's growing bets on the AI space, includes the participation of BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners and MGX.
The investment fund, called Global AI Infrastructure Investment Partnership (GAIIP), will invest in data centers and supporting power infrastructure. The fund will make investments "in new and expanded data centers to meet growing demand for computing power."
The fund partners said the investments will help the U.S. fuel "AI innovation and economic growth."
Investments will also be made in U.S. partner countries.
The announcement said NVIDIA Corp NVDA will support the newly formed GAIIP by offering "its expertise in AI data centers and AI factories to benefit the AI ecosystem."
"NVIDIA will use its expertise as a full stack computing platform to support GAIIP and its portfolio companies on the design and integration of AI factories to propel industry innovation," Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said.
While the fund initially seeks to invest $30 billion from investors, asset owners and corporations, the total investment could hit $100 billion when debt financing is included.
"Mobilizing private capital to build AI infrastructure like data centers and power will unlock a multi-trillion-dollar long-term investment opportunity," BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said. "Data centers are the bedrock of the digital economy."
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said the investment shows the company's commitment to advancing AI.
"The Global AI Infrastructure Investment Partnership will help us deliver on this vision, as we bring together financial and industry leaders to build the infrastructure of the future and power it in a sustainable way," Nadella said.
Why It's Important: The new investment group will seek to improve the competitiveness of the U.S. in the AI space along with meeting the increased need for energy infrastructure.
The partnership brings in companies involved in the field of AI or experienced in securing investments from outside parties, which could make a winning combination.
With the growing demand for artificial intelligence capabilities, investments continue to flow to the sector. The new investment group could attract strong interest given the notable names involved.
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