KKR and Energy Capital Partners (ECP) have committed to a US$50bn investment to meet the fast-growing needs of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing. This strategic partnership, announced Wednesday, targets improvements in power generation, transmission, and data centre capabilities.
KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co) is a global investment firm known for its expertise in alternative asset management. In recent years, KKR has expanded into digital infrastructure, holding stakes in over 100 data centres worldwide and investing more than US$29bn in digital and fibre assets. ECP, established in 2005, is a leading US-based investor specialising in energy transition infrastructure, known for investments across power generation, renewables, and sustainability.
ECP will fund this initiative from existing and future capital pools, while KKR will draw from its infrastructure and real estate strategies. The firms will work with industry leaders, including utilities and independent power producers.
Demand for data centre power is expected to grow by 160% by 2030, driven largely by the energy-intensive nature of AI model training, inferencing, and tuning. This trend aligns with similar investments from tech giants like Microsoft and Google, which are increasingly investing in renewables to support their data-intensive operations and reduce emissions. Last month, BlackRock launched a $30bn AI infrastructure fund for AI infrastructure.
“Data centre power demand will go unmet without the right infrastructure in place, which is critical to boosting productivity, supporting electrification, and helping countries create a competitive edge in AI,” stated Joe Bae, Co-Chief Executive Officer of KKR.