Blackstone Positions Itself at the Center of AI Financing as Neocloud Debt Concerns Grow
aiinsider ·
Blackstone is positioning itself at the center of the artificial intelligence financing boom by backing a wide range of ventures, from data center loans to frontier models. Jas Khaira, who leads the firm's San Francisco-based AI hub Blackstone N1, highlighted that AI requires significantly more capital than previous technology cycles. With $1.3 trillion in assets under management, Blackstone claims to be the largest owner of compute outside of hyperscalers, citing major investments such as a $5 billion commitment to Crux AI and funding for chip startup Etched. The firm pioneered lending to neoclouds against GPUs, starting with a $2.3 billion loan to CoreWeave in 2023 and later co-leading a $10 billion facility for Firmus. Although rising interest rates and heavy debt loads have caused market volatility, including falling shares for CoreWeave and a cancelled IPO for Firmus, Khaira dismissed comparisons to the 2008 financial crisis because most data center debt is backed by creditworthy hyperscalers. Additionally, Blackstone is driving AI adoption through Ode, a $1.5 billion joint venture with Anthropic and Hellman & Friedman. Khaira noted that while returns from AI are real, they remain uneven across the sector.
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