A group of investors including BlackRock, Microsoft and Nvidia is buying one of the world’s largest data center operators, with nearly 80 facilities, in a $40 billion deal to secure coveted computing capacity for artificial intelligence.
The purchase of US-based Aligned Data Centers from Australia’s Macquarie Asset Management (MQG.AX) this Wednesday is the first deal for the AI Infrastructure Partnership formed last year, which includes Abu Dhabi-based fund MGX and Elon Musk’s xAI startup among its backers.
“With this investment in aligned data centers, we advance our goal of delivering the infrastructure necessary to power the future of AI,” said BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, who also serves as president of the AI Infrastructure Partnership.
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The acquisition is the latest in a series of deals involving Big Tech and Silicon Valley startups that have been fueled by the rise of AI.
Major technology companies including Alphabet, Amazon.com, Meta, Microsoft and CoreWeave are on track to spend $400 billion on AI infrastructure this year, Morgan Stanley estimates.
AI startup OpenAI reached deals in recent weeks with chipmakers Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom, which could cost more than $1 trillion to acquire to secure about 26 gigawatts of computing capacity, enough to power about 20 million American homes.
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Meta Platforms is building several multi-gigawatt AI data centers, including one called Prometheus that will launch in 2026 and another, Hyperion, that can scale up to 5 gigawatts.
Aligned Data Centers, a private company, currently has more than 5 gigawatts of operational and planned capacity, distributed across 50 campuses in the US and Latin America.
Joe Tigay, Nvidia portfolio manager, Equity Armor Investments, said the acquisition highlights the growing value of data center assets for investors.
“They are looking for rapid expansion to meet the demand for AI and optimize it”
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Founded in 2013, Aligned has been a big winner in the AI infrastructure spending boom, raising $12 billion in equity and debt earlier this year in one of the largest private equity injections into a data center company.
Its clients include cloud computing platform Nutanix and IT services provider Datto, according to its website.
The company also has a land portfolio with access to significant near-term energy capacity in key markets, according to Macquarie, which first invested in the company in 2018.
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Shares of publicly traded rivals, such as Applied Digital, have more than quadrupled this year. Shares rose 5% on Wednesday.
The investment group that acquired Aligned, which also includes Kuwait Investment Authority and Singaporean state investor Temasek as sponsors, initially aims to invest $30 billion in equity capital, with a potential to reach $100 billion, including debt. He has not revealed the contribution of each partner to the group or the equity value of Wednesday’s operation.
Nvidia and Aligned declined to comment, while the investors did not immediately respond to requests for more details about the deal.
“All the major participants in that consortium are demonstrating the strength of the AI ecosystem,” said Hendi Susanto, portfolio manager at Nvidia investor Gabelli Funds. Aligned will remain headquartered in Dallas, Texas, under the leadership of Andrew Schaap when the deal closes in the first half of 2026, the investment group said in its statement.
With information from Reuters
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