BlackRock’s $40B AI Infrastructure Push
BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners is closing in on a deal to acquire Aligned Data Centers, valuing the operator at roughly $40 billion. Aligned runs 78 data centers across 50 campuses in the U.S. and South America, with $12 billion in recent funding commitments from backers like Macquarie.
- If completed, the transaction would be one of the five largest deals of 2025.
- Mubadala-backed MGX would participate alongside BlackRock, extending its AI infrastructure bet.
- GIP has also been eyeing acquisitions in the power sector, including AES Corp, as electricity demand for AI accelerates.
Riding the AI Infrastructure Supercycle
The deal reflects a broader investment wave sparked by AI adoption:
- Meta recently raised $29 billion to fund a data center in Louisiana.
- Oracle secured $18 billion in bonds to expand cloud infrastructure for OpenAI.
- Global investors continue piling into digital infrastructure, viewing it as a rare blend of growth and stability.
At the same time, soaring valuations have raised concerns about whether AI services can generate the revenues to justify such massive capital deployment.
BlackRock’s Broader Expansion
This would not be BlackRock’s first major data center move. GIP already co-owns CyrusOne, taken private in a $15 billion deal in 2021. Since BlackRock acquired GIP last year for $12.5 billion, it has steadily expanded its presence in infrastructure tied to AI, power, and digital assets.
BlackRock shares are up 13% year-to-date, bringing its market value to about $189 billion.
WSA Take
BlackRock’s $40 billion pursuit of Aligned underscores a clear reality: AI is driving one of the biggest infrastructure buildouts in decades. Data centers, power capacity, and connectivity are now as critical as the chips themselves.
This move solidifies BlackRock’s role in financing the physical backbone of AI — and shows how Wall Street is treating infrastructure as the most direct way to ride the AI boom.
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