BlackRock, Microsoft, Nvidia, and xAI Acquire Aligned Data Centers for $40B

A powerhouse consortium featuring BlackRock, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Elon Musk’s xAI just struck a massive deal in AI infrastructure history.

Their $40 billion acquisition of Aligned Data Centers marks the largest data center transaction ever recorded.

This is the first major investment from the Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Partnership, AIP, a consortium formed 13 months ago with the goal of deploying up to $100 billion in AI infrastructure.

The deal buys the Dallas-based operator from Australian firm Macquarie Asset Management. In one swoop, it pulls 50 campuses with over five gigawatts of capacity under one strategic umbrella.

Computing capacity as the ultimate battleground

The scale of the acquisition says it all. The tech industry is starving for compute to train and run AI. Gene Munster, a prominent tech analyst, posted on X calling the deal “the latest data point that we’re still early in AI,” pointing to the long runway for infrastructure.

The money backing that view is staggering. Morgan Stanley estimates Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and CoreWeave will spend roughly $400 billion this year on AI infrastructure. Bank of America Securities analyst Vivek Arya projects AI-related capital expenditures could reach $1.2 trillion annually by 2030, and vendor-backed deals will still be only a sliver of total spending.

This acquisition pairs BlackRock’s financial firepower with Microsoft’s cloud expertise and Nvidia’s AI hardware dominance, a clear declaration of intent in the global AI arms race. The consortium also includes Abu Dhabi’s MGX fund and other sovereign wealth funds, a signal that the bet on AI infrastructure is global, not just Silicon Valley fever.

Infrastructure innovation becomes the new competitive advantage

Aligned Data Centers is not a generic co-location shop, it has been built for the AI era. The company grew from two data centers to 50 facilities in seven years under Macquarie’s management, specializing in sustainable, ultra‑efficient sites tuned for high‑density AI workloads.

Here is where Aligned’s engineering matters: it holds over 50 patents and award-winning cooling systems built to handle the extreme energy demands of AI computing. Hot chips need cold rooms. Its facilities span key markets across North and South America, from Northern Virginia, Chicago, Dallas, Ohio, and Phoenix to São Paulo and Santiago.

The timing is tight. Goldman Sachs predicts data center capacity will jump 50 percent in the next two years, while analysts see a 15+ gigawatt supply gap in the U.S. by 2030. With demand outrunning supply, it is no surprise investors are paying premiums for AI‑ready infrastructure.

Energy is vital here. Energy costs account for 30-50% of a data center’s operational expenses, so Aligned’s efficient cooling and renewable partnerships are not nice‑to‑haves, they are the edge.

Economic transformation beyond expectations

The $40 billion price tag is more than a business deal, it signals a shift in how the economy values AI infrastructure. Larry Fink, BlackRock’s CEO, described the acquisition as supporting the group’s goal of delivering infrastructure to power the future of AI, and as a path to multi‑trillion dollar investment opportunities.

Not everyone is cheering. Economist Steve Eisman issued a cautionary note about the U.S. economy becoming increasingly dependent on AI capital spending. Economist Justin Wolfers warned that “the non-AI parts” of the economy are flatlining. And Moody’s Analytics reports that 22 states are already seeing economic contraction. Boom for one sector, chill elsewhere.

Expected to close in the first half of 2026, pending regulatory approvals, the deal puts the consortium at the center of what many analysts call the defining infrastructure buildout of the century. With global AI infrastructure spending projected to reach $375 billion in 2025, this looks like the opening move in a larger rewiring of the digital economy.

The question is no longer whether AI will reshape the global economy, it is whether everyone else can keep up with the infrastructure push the tech titans just kicked into gear. As Munster suggests, if a $40 billion deal is still early, the next few years could be a whirlwind.