GIP’s 2025 Data Center Gambit: How BlackRock’s New Arm is Financing the AI Energy Boom

Industry Adoption: Global Infrastructure Partners’ Pivot to Powering AI’s Digital Foundation

Between 2021 and 2024, Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) operated as a quintessential infrastructure investor, focusing on large, stable assets. Its strategy included holding stakes in established data center operators like CyrusOne and acquiring critical energy infrastructure, exemplified by the $6.2 billion take-private deal for U.S. utility ALLETE in May 2024. This period was defined by acquiring mature, cash-flowing assets. However, the September 2024 approval of BlackRock’s $12.5 billion acquisition of GIP marked a major inflection point. This move armed GIP with unprecedented capital and signaled a strategic pivot to meet the voracious energy and infrastructure demands of artificial intelligence.

This shift crystallized in 2025. The explosive growth of AI, which has rendered traditional air cooling insufficient and driven cooling to account for 20-40% of a data center’s energy use, created a new imperative. GIP’s strategy evolved from passive ownership to active development. The November 2025 partnership with construction giant ACS to launch a global 1.7 GW hyperscale data center platform is the primary evidence of this change. This venture positions GIP not as a developer of specific cooling technologies but as a foundational financier and enabler of the next-generation facilities where advanced liquid cooling—a market projected to hit $10.7 billion by 2030—will be deployed. GIP is adopting a “picks and shovels” strategy, capitalizing on the entire $1.8 trillion data center expansion by building the essential infrastructure, thereby mitigating technology risk while capturing the upside of the sector’s seismic growth.

Table: Key GIP-Related Investments and Market Funding

Table: GIP’s Strategic Data Center Partnerships

Geography: Global Infrastructure Partners’ Worldwide Expansion

Between 2021 and 2024, GIP’s geographic focus was on acquiring major infrastructure in developed markets, primarily North America. The $6.2 billion acquisition of ALLETE, a U.S. utility, exemplifies this strategy of securing foundational assets in stable regulatory environments. While its portfolio company CyrusOne had a global footprint, GIP’s direct actions were concentrated in regions with established infrastructure needs.

The landscape has expanded dramatically from 2025 to today. GIP’s strategy is now explicitly global and targeted at emerging AI hubs. The partnership with ACS aims to establish a “global” data center platform, signaling intent to build in key markets across North America, Europe, and Asia. Furthermore, the September 2024 collaboration with Microsoft and Abu Dhabi-based MGX indicates a strong focus on the Middle East, a region rapidly investing in AI capabilities. This geographic diversification is a direct response to both opportunity and risk; with reports of power constraints slowing data center rollouts in established EMEA markets, GIP’s ability to finance and develop new infrastructure in power-rich or underserved regions will be a key competitive advantage.

Technology Maturity: GIP’s Infrastructure-First Approach

In the 2021–2024 period, GIP’s investment thesis was centered on mature, commercially scaled technologies. Its involvement in the data center market was primarily through the ownership of operators like CyrusOne, which deploy proven, large-scale cooling and power systems. The firm’s expertise was in financing and managing existing infrastructure, not in vetting or funding nascent cooling technologies. The market was already signaling a shift, with liquid cooling seeing a projected 27% CAGR, but GIP remained an investor in the real estate, not the tech inside.

From 2025 onwards, GIP has doubled down on its technology-agnostic, infrastructure-centric approach. The firm is not betting on a specific winner in the liquid cooling race (e.g., direct-to-chip vs. immersion). Instead, it is scaling a different kind of technology: the rapid, repeatable, and global development of hyperscale data center facilities. The 1.7 GW platform with ACS is a commercial validation of this strategy. The core technology GIP is deploying is its financial and logistical capability to build the massive, power-ready shells that enable the deployment of any advanced cooling system a hyperscaler tenant requires. The key challenge highlighted by market data—grid constraints—validates this focus. The most mature and critical technology for GIP is not a cooling method, but the ability to secure power and build at an unprecedented scale.

Table: SWOT Analysis of GIP’s Data Center Infrastructure Strategy

Forward-Looking Insights and Summary

The data from 2025 paints a clear picture: Global Infrastructure Partners, supercharged by BlackRock, is positioned as a kingmaker in the AI infrastructure gold rush. The year ahead will be defined by execution. The primary signal to monitor will be the progress of the 1.7 GW development platform with ACS—specifically, announcements of site acquisitions and, most critically, the successful securing of long-term Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), preferably with renewable sources. This will be the ultimate litmus test of their ability to overcome the grid constraints that threaten to stall the industry.

While GIP’s current “picks and shovels” strategy is a shrewd, risk-mitigating approach, investors and competitors should watch for any deviation. A move to make direct venture-style investments in next-generation cooling technology companies would signal a significant strategic evolution toward vertical integration. For now, GIP is not just financing data centers; it is financing the critical power and cooling ecosystems that will underpin the AI revolution. Their success or failure in deploying capital at this scale will serve as a bellwether for the entire data center market and the institutional investors flocking to it. Tracking these complex developments and identifying the next strategic pivot requires dedicated market intelligence.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the primary shift in GIP’s data center strategy described in the article?
Before 2024, GIP’s strategy was to invest in and hold stakes in mature, existing infrastructure assets like the utility ALLETE and data center operator CyrusOne. Following the BlackRock acquisition, its strategy pivoted to active development, exemplified by the November 2025 partnership with ACS to build a new 1.7 GW global hyperscale data center platform to directly meet the infrastructure demands of the AI boom.

Why is GIP focusing on building new data centers instead of just investing in existing ones?
The explosive growth of AI has made traditional data center infrastructure, particularly air cooling, insufficient. AI workloads generate immense heat, requiring advanced liquid cooling systems that older facilities cannot accommodate. This has created a massive demand for new, purpose-built facilities, which GIP aims to finance and develop, positioning itself as a foundational enabler for the AI industry.

What does the article mean by GIP’s ‘picks and shovels’ strategy?
This refers to GIP’s approach of investing in the fundamental, essential infrastructure (the ‘picks and shovels’) required for the AI boom—specifically, the physical data center buildings and power connections. Instead of betting on which specific cooling technology or AI company will win, GIP is building the foundational platforms that all tenants will need, thereby mitigating technology risk while capitalizing on the sector’s overall growth.

Who are GIP’s key partners in its new data center development plan?
GIP has formed several crucial partnerships. Its primary development partner is the construction giant ACS, with whom it launched a joint venture for a 1.7 GW global data center platform. Additionally, GIP has partnered with Microsoft and the Abu Dhabi-based fund MGX to invest in data centers and their supporting power infrastructure.

According to the SWOT analysis, what is the biggest threat to GIP’s data center expansion plans?
The most significant threat is not financial competition but physical infrastructure limitations. Severe power availability and grid constraints are noted as the primary risks that could slow down or delay the deployment of its planned data center portfolio. GIP’s success will heavily depend on its ability to secure large-scale power sources for its new developments.