An industry generative artificial intelligence (genAI) alliance, the AI Infrastructure Partnership (AIP), on Wednesday announced that xAI, Nvidia, GE Vernova, and NextEra Energy were joining BlackRock, Microsoft, and Global Infrastructure Partners as members. But given that the announcement specified no financial commitments or any other details, analysts doubted it would make much of a difference.
Still, even though the massive global momentum behind genAI is unlikely to be changed by the announcement, the addition of the two energy companies to the group was an implicit acknowledgement that the ever-increasing power requirements of genAI data centers need serious attention.
Scott Bickley, advisory fellow at Info-Tech Research Group, said that the massive resources behind this initiative, including Blackrock, which reported in January that it held assets worth $11.6 trillion, making it the world’s largest money manager, can make the difference.
“When deep pockets like Blackrock get involved at scale, it matters,” Bickley said. “This particular news release doesn’t specify any dollar amounts. However, we can infer from the players involved and the scale of AI investments that this will be a massive initiative that will move the needle in the AI infrastructure space.”
Forrester senior analyst Alvin Nguyen was more skeptical. “The problem is that this has all been done by PR. So what is real and what is true isn’t obvious, at least not to me. I think it changes nothing.”
The statement from the group said it was changing its name from the Global AI Infrastructure Investment Partnership to the AI Infrastructure Partnership (AIP). This initiative is not to be confused with another genAI effort called Stargate, which is backed by the US government and focuses on explicitly combatting China’s genAI efforts.
The new AIP members will “further strengthen the partnership’s technology leadership as the platform seeks to invest in new and expanded AI infrastructure. Nvidia will also continue in its role as a technical advisor to AIP, leveraging its expertise in accelerated computing and AI factories to inform the deployment of next-generation AI data center infrastructure,” the group’s statement said. “Additionally, GE Vernova and NextEra Energy have agreed to collaborate with AIP to accelerate the scaling of critical and diverse energy solutions for AI data centers. GE Vernova will also work with AIP and its partners on supply chain planning and in delivering innovative and high efficiency energy solutions.”
The group claimed, without offering any specifics, that it “has attracted significant capital and partner interest since its inception in September 2024, highlighting the growing demand for AI-ready data centers and power solutions.”
The statement said the group will try to raise “$30 billion in capital from investors, asset owners, and corporations, which in turn will mobilize up to $100 billion in total investment potential when including debt financing.”
Forrester’s Nguyen also noted that the influence of two of the new members — xAI, owned by Elon Musk, along with Nvidia — could easily help with fundraising.
Musk “with his connections, he does not make small quiet moves,” Nguyen said. “As for Nvidia, they are the face of AI. Everything they do attracts attention.”
Info-Tech’s Bickley said that the astronomical dollars involved in genAI investments is mind-boggling. And yet even more investment is needed — a lot more.
“We are currently witnessing a generational level of investment in AI never seen before. Only the entities — sovereign wealth funds, major corporations, governments, hedge funds — can even play in this game,” Bickley said. “At the infrastructure level, this may parallel what we have seen in the 5G space, which has become the current standard for communications networks but has not lived up to expectations on performance and ROI. Investments in 5G have now eclipsed $700B, but has your cell phone experience changed materially over the past few years? Ultimately, these mega projects will be good for IT leaders and, in general, as they will facilitate energy infrastructure buildout, drive efficiencies and innovation, and ultimately make the core AI horsepower a commodity.”
Source:: Network World