Blackstone announced a joint venture with Google to create a new U.S.-based company focused on delivering AI infrastructure and cloud-based access to Google Cloud’s Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) as a compute-as-a-service offering.
The partnership is designed to expand customer access to Google’s TPUs outside of the traditional Google Cloud environment, giving enterprises and AI developers another option for running advanced AI workloads. The new company will provide data center capacity, operations, networking, and TPU-powered compute infrastructure tailored for artificial intelligence applications.
Google’s TPUs are custom AI chips built specifically for training and inference workloads. The chips have been deployed in production environments for more than a decade and currently power Gemini, as well as AI systems used by major AI labs, financial firms, and enterprises running high-performance computing applications.
Under the agreement, Blackstone is making an initial $5 billion equity commitment through funds it manages. The joint venture plans to bring its first 500 megawatts of capacity online in 2027, with expectations of substantial scaling over time as demand for AI infrastructure continues to rise.
Google will contribute hardware, including TPUs, along with software and related services to help accelerate the deployment and operations of the platform. The companies said the partnership combines Google’s AI and technical expertise with Blackstone’s scale in digital infrastructure and energy investments.
Blackstone also named Benjamin Treynor Sloss, a longtime Google executive with more than 20 years of experience overseeing Google’s global infrastructure and operations, as CEO of the new venture.
Blackstone currently manages more than $1.3 trillion in assets and is one of the world’s largest investors in data center infrastructure. The company said the partnership reflects increasing demand for accelerated computing capacity as enterprises scale AI deployments globally.
KEY QUOTES:
“We see a generational opportunity to invest capital at scale building AI infrastructure. This new company has enormous potential as it helps to meet the unprecedented demand for compute. We are incredibly proud to partner with Google – bringing together their world class TPUs and AI capabilities with Blackstone’s exceptional strength in energy and digital infrastructure.”
Jon Gray, President and COO, Blackstone
“Capital alone doesn’t build category-defining platforms – the right partner, the right structure, and the conviction to underwrite singular opportunities do. Google’s TPUs, a decade in the making and foundational to the AI economy, are exactly the kind of platform BXN1 was built to back.”
Jas Khaira, Head Of Blackstone N1 (BXN1), Blackstone
“This joint venture with Blackstone helps meet growing demand for TPUs, which are optimized specifically for efficiency and performance in the AI era. Together, we’re accelerating AI transformation and providing more options for organizations to access accelerated compute capability.”
Thomas Kurian, CEO, Google Cloud
