A consortium of major technology and investment firms, including Microsoft, Nvidia, BlackRock, and Elon Musk's xAI, has announced an agreement to acquire Aligned Data Centers in a deal valued at approximately $40 billion. This transaction is being called the largest global data center deal to date and marks the first investment by the newly formed Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Partnership (AIP). The acquisition is a significant move to expand the necessary infrastructure to support the rapid growth of artificial intelligence and next-generation cloud computing. Aligned Data Centers operates over 50 campuses across the Americas with more than 5 gigawatts of operational and planned capacity. The deal underscores the intense competition among tech giants to secure the vast computing capacity required for AI development. In initial market reaction, shares of Microsoft and Nvidia saw modest gains of less than 1% following the announcement, while BlackRock's shares rose over 1%. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2026.