Aligned Data Centers acquired in record-breaking move
A consortium including Nvidia, Microsoft, BlackRock, and Elon Musk’s xAI has agreed to acquire Aligned Data Centers for $40 billion, marking the largest global data center transaction to date. The purchase includes 100% of Aligned’s equity and involves major partners from the Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Partnership (AIP).
Aligned, currently owned by Macquarie Asset Management, operates 50 data center campuses across North and South America, with over 5 gigawatts of operational and planned capacity. The company provides the infrastructure needed to meet the growing power and compute demands of AI development.
BlackRock-led AIP makes first major investment
This deal marks the first investment by AIP, a joint initiative launched in September 2024 by BlackRock, MGX (Abu Dhabi), Microsoft, and Nvidia to accelerate AI infrastructure. Since its founding, additional members including the Kuwait Investment Authority, xAI, and Temasek have joined the group.
“With this investment in Aligned Data Centers, we further our goal of delivering the infrastructure necessary to power the future of AI, while offering our clients attractive opportunities to participate in its growth,” said Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock and Chairman of AIP.
AI infrastructure expansion drives record funding
The surge in AI innovation has driven a wave of high-profile infrastructure investments. Firms such as OpenAI, Nvidia, Oracle, and CoreWeave are committing vast resources to scale compute power. These data centers are critical to running advanced AI workloads, training models, and delivering low-latency performance.
Aligned’s facilities are expected to play a central role in supporting AI expansion across industries, from cloud services to autonomous systems. The deal remains subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in late 2026.
