A consortium led by BlackRock, with backing from Microsoft, Nvidia, and other global investors, has struck a $40 billion deal to acquire Aligned Data Centers, one of the largest data center operators in the world. The move marks the first major investment by the AI Infrastructure Partnership, an alliance that includes Elon Musk’s xAI, Abu Dhabi’s MGX, and state investors from Kuwait and Singapore’s Temasek.
The acquisition from Macquarie Asset Management aims to secure critical data center capacity as AI demand surges. The partnership plans to invest $30 billion in equity, potentially expanding to $100 billion including debt financing, to build and upgrade AI-ready facilities globally.
“Aligned’s footprint and scalability make it a cornerstone for powering the next generation of AI,” said Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock. The Dallas-based company currently operates over 80 facilities across the U.S. and Latin America, with 5 gigawatts of capacity in operation or development.
The deal comes amid an unprecedented infrastructure boom. Major tech firms — Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, and Microsoft — are projected to spend $400 billion in 2025 on AI and cloud computing, while OpenAI has signed multi-trillion-dollar chip supply deals with Nvidia, AMD, and Broadcom.
Aligned will continue to be led by CEO Andrew Schaap and remain headquartered in Texas, with the deal expected to close in the first half of 2026.
