Alphabet’s Google and Blackstone are partnering to launch a new U.S.-based artificial intelligence cloud company. Blackstone will invest $5 billion in equity to hold a majority stake in the venture.
The company will sell access to Google’s specialized Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) for AI development. This move represents Google’s most significant effort to monetize its custom hardware for external customers.
The venture positions both firms as direct competitors to market leader Nvidia and emerging neocloud providers. Longtime Google executive Benjamin Treynor Sloss will lead the new entity.