Summary:
Le 15 octobre 2025, un consortium comprenant Nvidia, Microsoft, BlackRock, MGX, xAI, et d’autres a annoncé un accord de 40 milliards de dollars pour acquérir Aligned Data Centers. L’objectif de cette acquisition est d’accélérer l’investissement dans l’infrastructure critique de l’IA et de soutenir la demande croissante pour les technologies de l’IA. Les points clés incluent la formation du Partenariat pour l’Infrastructure de l’Intelligence Artificielle (AIP) par BlackRock, MGX, Microsoft et Nvidia en septembre 2024, la participation d’autres investisseurs majeurs tels que l’Autorité d’Investissement du Koweït et Temasek, et qu’Aligned opère actuellement 50 campus totalisant plus de 5 gigawatts de capacité opérationnelle et planifiée. La transaction devrait se clôturer fin 2026, sous réserve des approbations réglementaires et des conditions de clôture habituelles.
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A groundbreaking $40 billion deal has been announced involving a consortium of high-profile entities, including Nvidia, Microsoft, BlackRock, and Elon Musk’s xAI. The consortium is set to acquire Aligned Data Centers, a major provider of data center infrastructure in North and South America, from its current owners, Macquarie Asset Management. This transaction, deemed the largest data center deal globally to date, underscores the surging demand for infrastructure capable of supporting advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.
**Legal Context and Regulatory Considerations**
The completion of this purchase, expected by late 2026, is contingent on regulatory approval and standard merger oversight mechanisms. The transaction operates within the framework established by laws such as the Federal Trade Commission Act (1914) in the United States, and similar anti-monopoly regulations in jurisdictions where Aligned Data Centers operates. The multi-jurisdictional review process will likely scrutinize potential anti-competitive concerns, especially given the strategic importance of AI infrastructure and the market dominance of companies like Microsoft and Nvidia. The global nature of the deal also invokes considerations under the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which examines foreign investments in critical infrastructure.
**Ethical Implications of the Deal**
From an ethical standpoint, this acquisition highlights critical challenges. The concentration of AI infrastructure in a few hands could exacerbate debates around digital equity, data sovereignty, and algorithmic fairness. Critics may argue that with entities like xAI and Nvidia spearheading innovation in AI technologies, centralizing physical infrastructure creates a potential choke point for smaller players who rely on democratizing access to computing power. Conversely, proponents argue that scaling up infrastructure is essential for tackling global challenges like climate change, healthcare innovation, and equitable education initiatives. For example, data centers owned and operated by Aligned could directly support AI-driven solutions for carbon emission tracking, potentially advancing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
**Industry Implications and Strategic Goals**
The acquisition aligns with the strategic objectives of the Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Partnership (AIP), which was jointly established in September 2024 by BlackRock, Nvidia, Microsoft, and MGX to accelerate AI-related investments. With large-scale data centers at the core of AI development, Aligned’s existing capacity—spread across 50 campuses and exceeding 5 gigawatts of operational and planned capacity—represents a critical asset. This robust infrastructure becomes pivotal as demand for computational power grows in parallel with innovations in generative AI, autonomous systems, and other AI-intensive technologies.
A related trend in the industry is the increased partnership between technology and investment giants, leveraging pooled resources to meet the high capital expenditures associated with AI infrastructure. Microsoft, for instance, has already committed billions of dollars to OpenAI while companies like Oracle negotiate major hosting contracts for AI workloads. This deal could further cement Nvidia’s role beyond a GPU provider, marking its evolution into a leader within the AI ecosystem’s broader hardware and infrastructure supply chain.
**Concrete Examples of AI Infrastructure Needs**
Aligned Data Centers’ assets will be instrumental in meeting the escalating demands of AI model training and deployment. For example, training state-of-the-art models like GPT-4, OpenAI’s language model, requires extensive computational resources, often translating into weeks or months of sustained operations across numerous data servers. Similarly, autonomous vehicle systems developed by xAI hinge on real-time processing power for data generated by millions of miles of driving simulations. The acquisition directly equips the consortium to address these requirements swiftly.
In conclusion, the acquisition of Aligned Data Centers by the AIP consortium is a landmark in both the data center and AI ecosystems. While heralding significant opportunities for technological advancement, the move invites scrutiny from regulators and stakeholders concerned with market fairness and ethical resource distribution. With AI set to transform industries further, this deal may well define the next decade in computing infrastructure and innovation.