Financing the AI buildout
Blackstone is investing across the AI ecosystem, from data centers and computing capacity to AI models and enterprise applications. Jas Khaira, who leads the firm's San Francisco-based Blackstone N1 initiative, says the scale of investment required for AI creates a significant role for flexible financing.
With $1.3 trillion in assets under management, Blackstone provides funding through both debt and equity. Its investments include a $5 billion commitment to Crux AI, a neocloud launched with Google to commercialize custom TPUs, and a $10 billion credit facility for Australian GPU provider Firmus, co-led with Coatue.
The firm's approach to lending considers customer commitments and the value of computing hardware used as collateral. In 2023, it arranged a $2.3 billion loan for CoreWeave, helping establish a financing model for companies expanding AI computing infrastructure.
Capital meets adoption
Khaira argues that concerns about AI-related borrowing should be viewed in context, noting that much of the data-center financing serves large technology companies with strong credit profiles. Demand for computing capacity remains high as AI developers scale their systems.
Blackstone is also working to bring AI into business operations. Its $1.5 billion joint venture with Anthropic and Hellman & Friedman, Ode, is deploying engineering teams to support adoption, beginning with companies in Blackstone's portfolio. Khaira says returns from AI implementation are emerging unevenly as organizations move at different speeds.
As computing infrastructure and enterprise adoption develop together, financing models that connect investment with long-term demand may help shape how widely AI becomes integrated into business.
