Imagine a consortium between a) a multitrillion dollar asset manager whose corporate governance values shift with the wind b) a juggernaut tech company that has faced censure from competition regulators and c) an authoritarian petrostate with a chequered human rights record.
Is this the latest villain to come out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe? No, this group is very real. The alliance is planning a $100bn spending spree that is to “enhance American competitiveness in AI while meeting the growing need for energy infrastructure to power economic growth”.
The trio is comprised of BlackRock, Microsoft and MGX, the latter an investment vehicle of Abu Dhabi. The group says it can collectively stump up $30bn of equity capital, which will be leveraged three times to hit total purchasing power, to build out the vast power infrastructure that artificial intelligence will supposedly require. It is one of several private capital attempts to get in on the gold rush.