Blackstone Plans Public Company for AI Data-Center Buying Spree
Summary
Blackstone Inc. is set to launch a publicly traded acquisition company focused on acquiring data centers, providing millions of individual investors an opportunity to capitalize on the burgeoning artificial intelligence market.
Key Insights
Why are data centers so critical to artificial intelligence development?
Data centers are essential infrastructure for AI because they house the computing power needed to train and run large language models and other AI systems. The explosive growth of AI is driving unprecedented demand for data center capacity—data center absorption has increased 37 times over the past five years—as AI models require massive computational resources. Additionally, AI applications consume enormous amounts of electricity; for example, generating a one-minute AI video can require substantial power. This surge in demand has made data centers one of the most valuable segments of Blackstone's $1.3 trillion investment portfolio, with QTS, the data center operator Blackstone acquired in 2021, serving as the single largest driver of gains in 2025.
What does it mean when Blackstone describes data centers as 'picks and shovels' of AI?
The 'picks and shovels' metaphor refers to the foundational infrastructure and tools that enable AI development, rather than AI companies themselves. Just as prospectors during gold rushes needed picks and shovels to extract gold, AI companies need critical enablers like data centers, hardware, electricity, and power generation to develop and deploy AI systems. Blackstone invests across this entire value chain—including data center operators like QTS and AirTrunk, hardware providers, and energy companies like Invenergy—positioning itself to profit from the infrastructure boom driven by AI adoption rather than betting on individual AI developers.