Brookfield seeks $10 billion for new AI infrastructure fund, WSJ reports

(Reuters) -Brookfield Asset Management is targeting $10 billion in equity for its new AI infrastructure fund, launching ​a new strategy aimed at investing in infrastructure tied to ‌artificial intelligence, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

The Canadian investment firm has already raised ‌$5 billion from investors including Nvidia, Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) and Brookfield’s own balance sheet, the Journal added.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Brookfield and KIA did not immediately respond to Reuters’⁠ requests for comment.

Brookfield ‌said it plans to use the capital, plus additional co-investments and debt, to build and acquire as ‍much as $100 billion worth of AI infrastructure, the report said.

Brookfield, which has over $1 trillion of assets under management worldwide, will invest across ​the AI ecosystem, spanning data centres, power providers and chip ‌manufacturing. The firm plans to devote a majority of its capital to projects that involve building from scratch on undeveloped land, the report added.

“AI infrastructure demands land, power, and purpose-built supercomputers—and our partnership with Brookfield brings all of these elements together in ⁠a ready-to-deploy AI cloud,”​ Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said in an ​emailed statement to Reuters.

Brookfield is one of the world’s largest investors in the AI value chain, with more than ‍100 billion euros ⁠($115.83 billion) invested across digital infrastructure, renewable power and semiconductor manufacturing worldwide.

Investor appetite for AI companies remains robust despite ⁠growing warnings of an AI bubble, fueled by soaring valuations and aggressive spending plans.

(‌$1 = 0.8633 euros)

(Reporting by Devika Nair in ‌Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)