BlackRock, Nvidia, and Microsoft lead $40B takeover of Aligned Data Centers to power the AI boom

The consortium, including xAI, GIP, MGX, Temasek, and Kuwait Investment Authority, is acquiring Aligned Data Centers in a $40 billion deal, marking the first major move under their $100 billion AI Infrastructure Partnership.

A group of corporate heavyweights is making one of the biggest bets yet on the future of artificial intelligence. BlackRock, Nvidia, Microsoft, and Elon Musk’s xAI have teamed up to acquire Aligned Data Centers for $40 billion, in what’s set to become the largest data center deal to date, according to the Financial Times.

The consortium includes Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), Abu Dhabi’s MGX, Temasek, and the Kuwait Investment Authority, combining financial muscle with technology leadership to tackle the soaring demand for computing power. The acquisition is the first under their newly formed $100 billion AI Infrastructure Partnership to build next-generation data centers that support companies such as OpenAI, Google, and Meta.

“Buyer consortium also includes Nvidia and Microsoft and plans to expand Aligned Data Centers to meet computing demand,” The Financial Times reported.

Founded in 2013 and based in Dallas, Aligned Data Centers operates around 50 campuses across the U.S. and Latin America, including sites in Virginia, Chicago, Dallas, Phoenix, and São Paulo. The company manages over 5 gigawatts of operational and planned capacity, making it one of the world’s largest providers of hyperscale data infrastructure. The new owners plan to expand that footprint aggressively to meet what they describe as “unprecedented AI-driven demand.”

Under the deal, the group will acquire Aligned from Macquarie Asset Management, which has backed the company since 2018. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2026, pending regulatory approvals.

Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, said the partnership’s model will allow technology companies to lease highly specialized data centers without putting them on their balance sheets — a move that could improve valuations. “With this investment in Aligned Data Centers, we further our goal of delivering the infrastructure necessary to power the future of AI,” Fink told the Financial Times.

Ahmed Yahia Al Idrissi, CEO of MGX and vice chair of the AI Infrastructure Partnership, said the consortium plans to deploy around 20 gigawatts of new capacity each year globally, with about half in the U.S. “We’re talking about roughly 20 gigawatts a year globally, and about half of that would be in the U.S.,” he said, emphasizing the scale of their expansion plans.

The acquisition reflects how AI’s appetite for power and space is reshaping global investment priorities. Analysts estimate that AI infrastructure spending could exceed $400 billion in 2025, with data centers becoming the backbone of that growth. For Nvidia, Microsoft, and xAI, the deal signals a deeper push beyond software and chips into the physical foundations of the AI economy, the center of where all that computation actually happens.