Ge Long Hui A P P·2025-10-15 14:26Core Insights - The article discusses the intensifying global competition in AI infrastructure, highlighted by a consortium led by BlackRock, NVIDIA, and Microsoft agreeing to acquire Aligned Data Centers for $40 billion, marking one of the largest transactions in the data center sector [1][2]. Group 1: Acquisition Details - The newly formed AI Infrastructure Alliance (GIP) will acquire 100% of Aligned Data Centers from Macquarie Asset Management, with a valuation of approximately $40 billion [2]. - The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2026, pending regulatory approval [2]. - Aligned Data Centers is recognized as one of the largest and fastest-growing data center companies globally, providing infrastructure primarily for cloud and AI companies [3][4]. Group 2: Financial Commitments and Future Plans - The consortium, which includes NVIDIA and BlackRock, aims to raise up to $100 billion to expand data centers and energy infrastructure supporting AI development [7]. - Earlier in the year, Aligned secured over $12 billion in equity and debt commitments from investors, including Macquarie Management Fund [5]. Group 3: Industry Developments - The competition for AI infrastructure is escalating, with significant partnerships emerging, such as Nscale's collaboration with Microsoft to build a data center in Texas with a power capacity of up to 240 MW [8]. - Nscale is expected to deploy approximately 104,000 of NVIDIA's latest GB300 chips, potentially generating up to $14 billion in revenue from this order [9][10]. - OpenAI has entered a 6 GW AI chip supply agreement with AMD, which includes the issuance of warrants that could give OpenAI up to 10% equity in AMD [12][13]. - Oracle announced a partnership with AMD to create a large-scale AI chip cluster, planning to deploy 50,000 AMD Instinct MI450 chips starting in Q3 2026 [14].