The investment management company Blackstone has announced that it has more than 63 billion euros in potential data center development projects. In its latest earnings call, the world’s largest alternative asset manager also reported a current portfolio of data centers valued at 49.5 billion euros, including those under construction.
According to the company, the consequences of artificial intelligence (AI) are as profound as the invention of the electric light bulb by Thomas Edison in 1880. Although the creation of commercially viable products took years, the subsequent expansion of the electrical grid parallels the current construction of data centers to drive the AI revolution.
Current expectations point to approximately 900 billion euros in capital expenditures in the United States over the next five years to build and enable new data centers, with another 900 billion euros in capital expenditures outside the United States.
The need to provide power for these data centers is a major contributor to an expected 40 percent increase in electricity demand in the United States over the next decade, compared to minimal growth in the last decade.
This growth represents unprecedented investment opportunities for Blackstone, positioning itself as the largest financial investor in AI infrastructure in the world thanks to its platform, capital, and expertise. The company’s current portfolio includes 49.5 billion euros in data centers, including those under construction, along with over 63 billion euros in potential development.
The flagship data center company in its portfolio, QTS, has increased its leasing capacity sevenfold since being privatized by Blackstone in 2021 for 9 billion euros. Last year, Blackstone announced an additional investment of 7.2 billion euros in the construction of data centers for AI.
Blackstone has numerous investments in data centers, including Vnet, Lumina CloudInfra, Copeland, Park Place Technologies, and Winthrop Technologies, as well as joint ventures with COPT, Digital Realty, and others. They are also providing debt and equity capital to other AI-related companies. For example, in the second quarter, they committed to provide the AI-focused cloud service provider, CoreWeave, with 4 billion euros from a 6.8 billion euro financing package, the largest debt financing in the company’s history.
With large-scale platforms in infrastructure, real estate, private credit, and renewable energy, Blackstone is extremely well positioned to be the preferred partner in this rapidly growing area.
Source: DCD