KKR launches $10bn data centre group led by former AWS chief - Financial Times

In a decisive move to power the burgeoning artificial intelligence revolution, private equity titan KKR has unleashed Helix Digital Infrastructure, a new company launching with over $10 billion in committed capital and led by former Amazon Web Services chief Adam Selipsky. This venture, backed by heavyweights including Nvidia, Vistra, and the Kuwait Investment Authority, aims to consolidate the fragmented and complex build-out of integrated AI infrastructure, from hyperscale data centers to dedicated power supplies. The timing couldn't be more critical; the insatiable demand for generative AI is creating unprecedented strains on existing digital infrastructure, manifesting as power constraints, network bottlenecks, and compute scarcity. Leading technology firms, often referred to as hyperscalers, are grappling with these challenges, prompting a surge of private capital entering the arena, as evidenced by similar recent partnerships from Blackstone and Brookfield. Selipsky, who brings firsthand experience scaling the world's largest cloud business, emphasized the urgent need to reduce complexity and unlock new capacity, noting that the current mechanisms are inadequate for the AI era's demands. Hemmed by this colossal investment and a leadership team steeped in cloud and energy expertise, Helix is poised to streamline the deployment of high-performance computing necessary for AI workloads. The company will focus on developing and managing hyperscale data centers, baseload and flexible power generation, transmission and distribution networks, and fiber connectivity. Expect Helix to aggressively pursue partnerships and additional institutional investors, potentially accelerating the timeline for AI deployment for hyperscalers who are keen to offload the intricacies of infrastructure buildout and secure long-term capacity. The market will be watching closely to see if this integrated 'one-stop shop' approach can truly break through the existing bottlenecks and reshape the AI infrastructure landscape.