Google and Blackstone launch TPU-led joint venture to scale AI

Google and Blackstone have launched an AI cloud-led venture to create a new TPU cloud. Both organisations will create a new US-based company that is expected to offer efficient data centre capacity, operations, networking and Google Cloud’s TPUs (Tensor Processing Units).

Shared earlier this week, Blackstone is expected to make an initial US$5 billion equity commitment to bring 500 megawatts (MW) of capacity online in 2027. This is part of a plan to scale significantly over time, with Google expected to provide hardware, including its TPUs and software and services to the new company so it can accelerate and meet growing demand for accelerated computing.

“This joint venture with Blackstone helps meet growing demand for TPUs, which are optimised specifically for efficiency and performance in the AI era,” said Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud. “Together, we’re accelerating AI transformation and providing more options for organisations to access accelerated compute capability.”

Benjamin Treynor Sloss, a Google executive with more than two decades of experience at the company, has been selected to lead the new company as CEO.

The joint venture between Google and Blackstone is intended to give customers greater choice and flexibility for running their AI workloads on TPUs. Google’s TPUs are custom chips specifically built for AI and are optimised for training and inference of more advanced AI models. They are also responsible for powering Gemini and Google’s AI-driven products.

Google recently launched two new TPUs to keep pace with global AI momentum. Speaking in April, Kurian explained how interest in agentic AI in particular was causing a fundamental shift for the industry.

“Transformation to an Agentic Enterprise is the future of every organisation, and Google Cloud uniquely offers a unified system that can take you there,” he said. “While technology can provide transformational power, you must still provide the vision.”

News of this comes as Blackstone intensifies its AI infrastructure investments, including in data centres and power generation, eager to capitalise on the continued AI boom. Its interest in Google reflects how Blackstone is seeking to find new ways to meet demand.

Jon Gray, President and COO of Blackstone, said: “We see a generational opportunity to invest capital at scale, building AI infrastructure. This new company has enormous potential as it helps to meet the unprecedented demand for compute. We are incredibly proud to partner with Google – bringing together their world-class TPUs and AI capabilities with Blackstone’s exceptional strength in energy and digital infrastructure.”

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