Google and Blackstone to create new $5B AI cloud company

[noumoe]

Google and Blackstone to create new $5B AI cloud company
SUMMARY
Google and Blackstone are launching a new artificial intelligence cloud computing company that will rely on Google’s specialized Tensor Processing Units.


Blackstone is providing $5 billion in equity capital and will hold majority ownership of the unnamed U.S. venture. The deal is set to be announced later Monday.


The company aims to bring 500 megawatts of computing capacity online by 2027 — enough power to serve a midsize city — and scale substantially beyond that. Google will supply the hardware, including its custom TPUs, along with software and services.


Longtime Google executive Benjamin Treynor Sloss will serve as chief executive.


The partnership marks Google’s biggest effort yet to commercialize and monetize its own AI chips to outside customers. It directly intensifies competition with Nvidia, the dominant player in AI computing infrastructure.


Demand for massive computing power to train and run advanced AI models has reached unprecedented levels. Most major AI firms currently depend on providers like CoreWeave, which uses Nvidia chips.


The new venture is positioned to capture a slice of that explosive market while giving Blackstone, one of the world’s largest data-center investors, deeper exposure to AI infrastructure.

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https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/google-and- ... y-0e35b91f