Blackstone’s AI Powerhouse Goes On Without Its $3 Billion Man

QTS Founder Chad Williams and Blackstone Inc. were on a hot streak. In the four years since the private equity firm’s $10 billion takeover, the company had become North America’s biggest data center landlord and a force in the artificial intelligence boom.

So it was a shock to staff when QTS in March said Williams would be leaving the developer — a $60 billion powerhouse and one of Blackstone’s best bets to date. The chief executive officer’s two-decade run at QTS would end in less than one month.

Behind the scenes, differences of opinion bubbled up over time between the ...