A newly formed coalition of tech and finance titans is betting $100 billion that artificial intelligence (AI) could alter global trade infrastructure, launching an ambitious plan to build a network of AI-ready data centers that could reshape how businesses operate worldwide.
The Global AI Infrastructure Investment Partnership, spearheaded by Microsoft, BlackRock and others, signals a shift in the commercial landscape. Investments in AI-focused data centers could accelerate the technology’s adoption across industries, potentially transforming supply chains, financial services and customer interactions.
“AI-enabled data centers will exponentially accelerate transaction speeds by optimizing data flow and reducing latency,” Tim Peters, chief marketing officer at software company Enghouse Systems, told PYMNTS. “AI has already shown the ability to increase supply chain forecasting accuracy by up to 20-50%. These efficiencies will boost eCommerce platforms’ ability to handle surges in demand, allowing retailers to deliver superior customer experiences. With the rise of 5G, this infrastructure will enhance real-time product recommendations, improve voice-activated shopping and personalized customer journeys at unprecedented scales.”
The partnership, backed by tech giants Microsoft and Nvidia and financial powerhouses Blackrock and Global Infrastructure Partners, aims to tackle the strain on existing data centers and power sources caused by advancing AI technology.
“We are committed to ensuring AI helps advance innovation and drives growth across every sector of the economy,” Satya Nadella, the chairman and CEO of Microsoft, said in a news release. “The Global AI Infrastructure Investment Partnership will help us deliver on this vision, as we bring together financial and industry leaders to build the infrastructure of the future and power it in a sustainable way.”
The initiative plans to raise up to $30 billion in private equity financing and invest up to $100 billion, including debt. While the focus will be primarily on U.S. investments, the partnership said in the announcement that it may also pursue opportunities in other countries.
The new data center initiative is timely, as AI’s power demands are expected to surge. For instance, Goldman Sachs estimates there will be a 160% increase in data center power consumption by 2030.
AI data centers have proliferated to meet increasing computational demands. They feature specialized hardware like GPUs optimized for AI workloads. Major tech companies are investing billions in expanding and improving these data center facilities. Energy efficiency and cooling are vital concerns, with some centers exploring innovative solutions like underwater or Arctic locations. Edge computing is also emerging to bring AI processing closer to data sources.
The new data centers, empowered by AI algorithms, will process massive volumes of data in real time, reducing latency and improving user experience, Baran Erdogan, a tech advisor at OSM, told PYMNTS.
“This would mean quicker checkouts, more accurate inventory management and the personalization of customer interactions,” he said. “By applying AI, data centers can also optimize resource allocation so that computing power can be utilized more effectively to lower operation costs and improve transaction speed.”
The collaboration by companies such as Microsoft and BlackRock to develop AI-driven data centers might be a source of innovation in services that transform retail and consumer behavior, Erdogan said.
“We may see more sophisticated recommendation engines using deep learning to predict the preferences of consumers with high accuracy,” he added. “AI can also enable augmented reality shopping experiences, where customers virtually try out clothes or see how furniture would look in their homes. These features can make online shopping more engaging and interactive, thereby probably affecting purchase decisions and leading to increased sales.”
AI’s role in data center design is expanding beyond its past applications, leading to the development of more complex supply chain management systems, Cache Merrill, the founder of the tech firm Zibtek, told PYMNTS.
“Such systems can use AI to forecast market behavior, manage stock levels without intervention and plan the best delivery routes based on consumer activity,” he said.”This reduces delivery time, lowers costs and adds resiliency to the supply chain, which can react rapidly to changes.”
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