Nvidia has announced a collaboration with several prominent Wall Street banks to raise $500bn (£370bn) in capital. This funding is earmarked for the development of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure.
The chipmaker confirmed deals with Apollo, BlackRock, Blackstone, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs, and KKR. These banks are reportedly categorising AI hardware and infrastructure, referred to as "compute," as a separate asset class for the first time.
The financing will support Nvidia's own projects and those undertaken by its partners. This includes the construction of new data centres designed to house, operate, and cool the extensive computer chips that process AI data. Additionally, the funds will back new factories for manufacturing the AI chips required to power these systems.
Jensen Huang, Nvidia's chief executive, stated, "In AI, compute is revenue," and noted that the company is bringing together leading long-term capital providers to independently underwrite AI infrastructure. Joe Bae and Scott Nuttall, co-chief executives of KKR, commented that "Compute has become a critical infrastructure asset."