BlackRock, Nvidia-backed group agrees $40B data centre deal
A consortium led by BlackRock and backed by Nvidia and Microsoft has agreed to buy Aligned Data Centers for about $40B, the first big move by the AI Infrastructure Partnership as investors have sought to secure capacity for high‑density AI workloads.
An investor group including BlackRock, Nvidia and Microsoft has agreed to acquire Aligned Data Centers for about $40 billion, marking the first major transaction by the Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Partnership and underlining how investors have sought to lock in capacity for the AI era.
The consortium has said it is buying Texas-based Aligned from Macquarie Asset Management, with closing targeted in the first half of 2026 subject to approvals.
The partnership includes backers such as Abu Dhabi’s MGX, Elon Musk’s xAI, Singapore’s Temasek and the Kuwait Investment Authority, and has targeted an initial $30 billion of equity that could scale to $100 billion with debt.
Inside Aligned: scale, footprint and customers
Founded in 2013, Aligned has operated and planned more than 5 gigawatts of capacity across 50 data centre campuses in the United States and Latin America, following an expansion that has included the 2023 acquisition of Latin American operator ODATA and a capital raise of over $12 billion earlier this year.
Global AI infrastructure spending has been estimated to reach roughly $400 billion this year as major technology companies race to secure compute, power and land.
Recent agreements by AI developers for long‑term chip supply and data centre capacity have intensified competition for sites that can support high‑density workloads. The Aligned deal has been positioned by the buyers as a way to accelerate delivery of AI‑ready campuses at scale.
Recent developments among rivals
Equinix has unveiled a “Distributed AI” infrastructure strategy, including an AI‑ready backbone and a global AI Solutions Lab across 20 locations (25 September 2025).
Vantage Data Centers has secured $5 billion in incremental green loan financings to expand its North America platform, including a fully funded New Albany, Ohio campus (3 June 2025).
Digital Realty has announced a collaboration with OQC and Nvidia to launch a quantum‑AI data centre in New York City (16 September 2025).