BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has pushed back against growing concerns of an artificial intelligence (AI) bubble. He has stated that the industry is instead facing a shortage of computing capacity, chips, and memory. Speaking at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, Fink said demand for AI infrastructure is outpacing supply at an unexpected rate.According to a report by Bloomberg, Fink said, “There is not an AI bubble. There is the opposite. We have supply shortages. Demand is growing much faster than anyone has ever anticipated.” He added that global demand for computing power has reached a point where financial markets could eventually develop instruments tied to it.“A new asset class will be buying futures of compute,” Fink predicted, highlighting how access to computing resources may become a tradable commodity. “We just don’t have enough compute power right now,” he added.
What we know about BlackRock’s AI investments
BlackRock has been increasing its exposure to AI infrastructure through large-scale investments. At the Milken conference, Fink announced the company’s plans to collaborate with a hyperscaler to scale its AI infrastructure efforts, including developing data centres and investing in energy. However, he did not disclose the identity of the hyperscaler.The company is working alongside Microsoft, Nvidia, and MGX, an investment vehicle based in the UAE, to deploy capital into data centers and energy-related assets. BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners-led consortium has even unveiled plans to buy Aligned Data Centers in a deal worth approximately $40 billion. Separately, the group is teaming up with private equity firm EQT to buy power provider AES Corp. for $10.7 billion in cash. The deals are part of a broader effort to build out capacity to support growing AI workloads.Fink’s remarks align with views shared by Brookfield Corporation CEO Bruce Flatt, who spoke on the same panel. Flatt pointed to a structural shift underway across industries driven by AI and cloud technologies, the report noted.“For the next 10 years, we will be rewiring the global economy,” he said, referencing the expanding role of data centers and digital infrastructure.Four major tech hyperscalers, including Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft, are expected to collectively spend more than $650 billion on AI in 2026.To compare, OpenAI has reported $25 billion in annualised revenue, while Anthropic says its annualised revenue run rate has crossed $30 billion.
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