Private Equity Shifts Focus from AI Investments to Energy Infrastructure

Private equity giants are pivoting from funding artificial intelligence startups to acquiring the utilities that power them. Firms like Blackstone and BlackRock are now channeling billions into electric companies across New Mexico, Texas, Wisconsin, and Minnesota—regions critical for both residential power and AI data center operations.

The strategy reflects a calculated bet on energy as the new bottleneck in tech infrastructure. "The reason is very simple: because there’s a lot of money to be made," says University of North Carolina finance professor Greg Brown. Deals include Blackstone's pending acquisitions of Public Service Company of New Mexico and Texas New Mexico Power, while Minnesota regulators battle over BlackRock's proposed utility stake.

This land grab for power assets coincides with ChatGPT's 2022 debut, which triggered unprecedented electricity demand from data centers. Investors now view vertically integrated energy portfolios—combining generation, transmission, and end-user access—as the ultimate play in the AI Gold rush.