Blackstone commits $5 billion to new Google TPU cloud venture

Google and Blackstone are partnering to create a new cloud platform powered by Google’s Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), as the companies look to capitalise on rising global demand for artificial intelligence computing infrastructure.

Blackstone will make an initial equity commitment of $5 billion to support the project, which is expected to bring around 500 megawatts (MW) of capacity online by 2027. Google will provide TPUs, software and services to the venture, according to a statement from the companies. The total investment value could reach $25 billion, including leverage, according to Bloomberg News.

"Under the terms of the partnership, Blackstone is making an initial commitment of $5 billion in equity capital from funds managed by Blackstone. The company expects to bring the first 500 MW of capacity online in 2027, with plans to scale significantly over time. Google will supply hardware, including TPUs, as well as software and services to the new company so it can rapidly accelerate to meet the growing demand for accelerated computing, leveraging the benefit of Google’s technical and domain expertise," the statement read. 

Blackstone has named Benjamin Treynor Sloss, a Google executive with over two decades of experience building and operating Google’s global infrastructure and operations, to lead the new unnamed company as CEO. 

Jon Gray, President and COO of Blackstone, said, “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.”

Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, said, “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."

Jas Khaira, Head of Blackstone N1 (BXN1), said, “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.”

Not Blackstone's first investment in AI

The deal also adds to Blackstone’s widening exposure to the AI sector, particularly across infrastructure and enterprise deployment. Earlier this month, Anthropic partnered with Blackstone, Hellman & Friedman and Goldman Sachs to launch an AI-focused enterprise services company aimed at helping businesses integrate Anthropic’s Claude models into operations. Reports said the venture could involve around $1.5 billion in commitments.  

Blackstone has also backed AI infrastructure provider CoreWeave and has been expanding its data centre footprint through assets such as QTS Realty Trust and a newly launched data centre acquisition vehicle.