Alphabet's $22 Billion Chip Boost Fuels AI Infrastructure Push
Alphabet Inc., parent of Google and one of the largest AI infrastructure developers, has seen its custom chip push get a significant boost. Crux AI, backed by Alphabet and Blackstone, secured $22 billion in debt financing to buy Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) developed by Google.
The financing is notable as it will be backed partly by the value of Google's TPUs and partly by customer contracts signed by Crux AI. Ten banks are reportedly providing the financing, including Goldman Sachs, Barclays, BNP Paribas, and Bank of Nova Scotia.
Blackstone has separately committed an initial $5 billion in equity to the venture. The deal will help bring Crux AI's first 500 megawatts of data-center capacity online by 2027, creating a new opportunity for Google beyond supplying computing power.