Aligned Data Centers raises $12 billion in funding to expand AI infrastructure amid rising demand

AI-focused infrastructure startup Aligned Data Centers announced on Wednesday it has raised over $12 billion in a new funding round. The capital includes $5 billion in primary equity from funds managed by Macquarie Asset Management and over $7 billion in new debt commitments.

The Plano, Texas-based Aligned plans to use these funds to develop over 5 gigawatts of future capacity across Canada, North America, and Latin America, meeting the soaring demand for AI-related computing power.

“We appreciate the commitment of our esteemed investors as we capitalize on the significant growth opportunities presented by the increasing demand for AI and cloud services,” Aligned CEO Andrew Schaap said.

“With a world-class team, history of successful deployments in strategically selected, scalable locations, and over a decade of deploying innovative cooling solutions optimized for the demands of the most powerful GPUs, Aligned is uniquely positioned to meet this market opportunity. This investment will fuel our continued growth, enabling us to deliver cutting-edge solutions that meet the evolving demands of our customers today and in the future,” Schaap added.

The rise of artificial intelligence has created an urgent need for high-capacity data centers that can connect thousands of chips into clusters, enabling the intensive computations required for AI applications. Companies across industries are investing heavily in these facilities to keep up with the rapid adoption of AI technologies.

Just last week, Microsoft revealed an $80 billion investment plan to enhance its AI data center infrastructure by 2025, underscoring the tech giant’s focus on maintaining leadership in AI innovation. This announcement follows a broader trend of businesses integrating AI into their operations, a wave that gained momentum after the debut of ChatGPT in 2022.

The growing popularity of AI, both in enterprise applications and everyday use, has spurred investments from startups and major corporations alike. For example, in September, Microsoft and Blackrock announced a joint plan to create a $30 billion fund aimed at building AI data centers and energy projects.

Earlier this month, Microsoft detailed its intent to allocate about $80 billion in fiscal 2025 to develop data centers for training AI models and deploying cloud-based AI applications.

Meanwhile, other players in the AI infrastructure space are also attracting significant funding. Crusoe Energy, a company focused on repurposing energy for computing, secured $600 million in late-stage funding last month, pushing its valuation to $2.8 billion, according to a report from Reuters.

The race to build AI infrastructure is well underway, as companies position themselves to support the ever-expanding computational needs of the AI era.