Google takes shot at Nividia and Amazon with $5 billion Blackstone AI cloud deal, details here

Google has partnered with Blackstone to create a new AI-focused cloud infrastructure company, backed by a $5 billion investment. The venture combines Google’s Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) with Blackstone’s data center expertise to meet surging demand for AI computing power. Google’s TPU 8i and TPU 8t chips, introduced last month, are designed for inference and model training, respectively, aiming to reduce development time for advanced AI systems. The deal marks Google’s push to compete with Nvidia’s dominance in AI chips and Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) lead in cloud computing. AWS revenue grew 28% year-over-year to $37.59 billion, while Microsoft Azure saw a 40% surge. Google Cloud reported a 63% growth in its segment, signaling the intensifying competition. Blackstone, managing over $1.3 trillion in assets, brings critical data center infrastructure to the partnership. The collaboration addresses a key bottleneck in AI expansion: power capacity. The first 500 megawatts of capacity from the project are expected to go live in 2027, providing organizations with accelerated compute options. Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian stated the joint venture will help meet growing demand for TPUs, optimized for AI efficiency and performance. The move underscores Google’s strategy to build a complete AI ecosystem, integrating chips, software, networking, and data centers. The partnership also signals a shift in the AI race, where infrastructure—beyond just chips—is becoming a decisive factor. Companies are increasingly competing for both hardware and energy resources to support AI workloads, making this collaboration a strategic play in the evolving tech landscape.