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Abu Dhabi and US firms form $100bn tech investment vehicle

19 September 2024

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Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence (AI)-focused investment company MGX has partnered with US-headquartered BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and Microsoft to establish the Global AI Infrastructure Investment Partnership (GAIIP).

The vehicle will "make investments in new and expanded data centres to meet growing demand for computing power, as well as energy infrastructure to create new sources of power for these facilities", Blackrock said on 18 September.

The partnership will initially seek to unlock $30bn of private equity capital from investors, asset owners and corporates, which in turn will mobilise a total investment potential of up to $100bn when including debt financing.

According to BlackRock, these infrastructure investments "will be chiefly in the US, fueling AI innovation and economic growth, and the remainder will be invested in US partner countries".

It added: "This partnership will support an open architecture and broad ecosystem, providing full access on a non-exclusive basis for a diverse range of partners and companies.

Leading graphics processing unit manufacturer Nvidia, also US-based, will support GAIIP by offering its expertise in AI data centres and AI factories, to benefit the AI ecosystem.

"GAIIP will also actively engage with industry leaders to help enhance AI supply chains and energy sourcing for the benefit of its customers and the industry," the statement added.

The founders of the partnership bring together leading global investors BlackRock, GIP and MGX with funding as well as expertise from Microsoft.

Through its partners, GAIIP combines an understanding of infrastructure and technology to drive efficient scaling of data centres with energy, power and decarbonisation investment capabilities for related enabling infrastructure for AI.

Commenting on the deal, MGX chairman Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan said that AI "is not just an industry of the future, it underpins the future".

He said: "Through this unique partnership, we will enable faster innovation, technological breakthroughs and transformational productivity gains across the global economy."

“Mobilising private capital to build AI infrastructure like data centres and power will unlock a multitrillion-dollar long-term investment opportunity,” said Larry Fink, BlackRock chairman and CEO. “Data centres are the bedrock of the digital economy, and these investments will help power economic growth, create jobs and drive AI technology innovation.”

Related read: Region plays high-stakes AI game

Photo credit: Pixabay

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Jennifer Aguinaldo

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