An Aligned data center in Northlake, Illinois, US, on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025.
Christopher Dilts | Bloomberg | Getty Images
In a significant move underscoring the escalating demand for AI infrastructure, a consortium including Nvidia, Microsoft, BlackRock, and Elon Musk’s xAI has agreed to acquire Aligned Data Centers for $40 billion, marking the largest data center deal globally to date. The announcement, made Wednesday, signals a new era of investment in the physical backbone supporting the AI revolution.
Aligned, currently owned by Macquarie Asset Management, designs and operates data centers and campuses across North and South America. The acquiring entity, comprised of MGX of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners, and members of the Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Partnership (AIP), will take complete ownership of the company’s equity.
The AIP, formed in September 2024 by BlackRock, MGX, Microsoft, and Nvidia, aims to accelerate investment in AI infrastructure, with the Kuwait Investment Authority, xAI, and Temasek subsequently joining as participants. The Aligned deal represents AIP’s inaugural investment, initiating its objective to deploy $30 billion of equity capital in this space.
“This investment in Aligned Data Centers reinforces our commitment to providing the essential infrastructure for the future of AI, while simultaneously offering our clients compelling opportunities to participate in its expansion,” stated Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock and Chairman of AIP.
The acquisition arrives amidst a frenzy of activity within the AI sector, as organizations scramble to secure the infrastructure necessary to meet the exponential growth in demand. The need for robust compute far outstrips current capacity, with companies like OpenAI, Nvidia, CoreWeave, and Oracle engaging in ambitious data center and computing deals requiring unprecedented financial and energy commitments. This surge has prompted forward-thinking companies to vertically integrate, investing directly into data center infrastructure to guarantee that they are strategically positioned to meet the computational demands of training and running increasingly complex AI models.
Data centers are vital, housing the hardware and equipment powering large AI workloads and model training. Aligned presently operates 50 campuses, boasting over 5 gigawatts of operational and planned power capacity. This scale makes it an attractive target for AIP, which expects to benefit from the operational efficiences and future scalability that Aligned canprovide.
The transaction is projected to close late next year, pending regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Analysts see this deal as a bellwether, indicating continued consolidation and increased investment in the data center landscape as the AI boom matures.
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