BlackRock’s Big Data-Center Buy Is a Lesser-Known Firm (Repeat)

(This story was originally published on Oct. 3, 2025. On Oct. 15, investors led by BlackRock Inc.’s Global Infrastructure Partners agreed to buy Aligned Data Centers in a deal that values the company at $40 billion.)

At the start of the year, a lesser-known infrastructure company called Aligned Data Centers managed to pull off a $12 billion fundraise — more than some of the world’s leading artificial intelligence startups have been able to secure in a single round. The goal: dramatically expanding its footprint to support surging demand for the facilities that power AI systems.

Nine months later, with much ...