Today
‘AI brings new risks’: Google agrees to whopping $50b deal
The acquisition provides the Google Cloud business with new cybersecurity products to offer customers as it works to catch up with Microsoft and Amazon.
This Month
Swiss PE giant swoops on Australian data centre firm with $1.2b buyout
GreenSquare DC has secured a $1.2 billion deal with Swiss private equity giant Partners Group as deep-pocketed investors look for AI exposure.
February
Westpac works with Accenture to deploy AI agents
The bank has already used agentic AI to assist its engineers move code to new cloud-based systems. Triaging mortgage applications could follow.
How this man went from a bike accident to $17b
The founder of CDC has found himself rich thanks to big investors who can’t get enough of digital infrastructure. He had dreamed of becoming a champion cyclist.
Canberra Data Centres worth $17b after $2b share sale
The founder expects the company to triple in the next five years after the Future Fund and Infratil increased their holdings.
AirTrunk eyes AI growth with first $2.5b move of the Blackstone era
The Australian data centre giant has unveiled its first big move since it was acquired by the alternative asset manager in a $24 billion deal last year.
Google playing catch-up on the hottest AI consumer trend of the year
AI agents can take over consumers’ web browsers to order groceries or book a restaurant for dinner. Google says its assistant is coming later this year.
January
Macquarie hopes for AirTrunk redux with $8b AI data centre bet
The asset management giant will invest in high-performance computing projects across the United States after striking a deal with Nasdaq-listed Applied Digital.
The wall of money heading for data centres has short-sellers excited
High-profile fund manager Jim Chanos says there’s too much exuberance about the sector and developers see only growing demand driven by artificial intelligence.
November 2024
Why Amazon was the big tech AI winner this earnings season
Alphabet, Meta, Apple and Microsoft were sold off after their artificial intelligence-laden results calls, but the online retailer had a better story to tell.
October 2024
David Di Pilla plots AirTrunk-sized data centre play
The dealmaking king has already lined up $4b of data centre assets, but has much bigger plans for alternative asset manager HMC Capital’s new investment push.
Big banks fund Macquarie Technology bid to cash in on AirTrunk effect
The funding agreement came as new research showed investment in data centres was expected to hit $26 billion by 2030 amid booming demand from technology giants.
AMP eyes February for long-planned expansion into business banking
The company, which already has a major mortgage loan book, will target start-ups and sole traders as it attempts to find higher margins.
September 2024
CBA explores replacing local call centre staff with AI
The bank has begun testing its Hey CommBank platform, which would significantly expand the use of artificial intelligence in customer interactions.
Inside the AirTrunk deal: how to build a $24b business in nine years
This week on The Fin podcast, Paul Smith and Anthony Macdonald on whether Robin Khuda can grow a $100 billion business and what might get in his way.
How Blackstone and AirTrunk plan to build a $100b business
The deal of the year? That’s old news for Robin Khuda, who is already thinking much bigger. It’s music to the ears of his new deep-pocketed backer.
Blackstone clinches data centre giant AirTrunk in deal of the year
The transaction is one of the biggest Australian M&A deals yet and will add to the global investment giant’s fast-growing portfolio of digital infrastructure.
Inside the high-tech sheds worth $24b to AirTrunk
From a single room holding a hard-working mainframe, data centres have evolved into major pieces of high-powered, high-tech infrastructure.
AirTrunk’s $23.5b AI pay day
Blackstone emerged as the winning bidder in the year’s biggest merger and acquisition deal, netting its founder Robin Khuda a $1 billion-plus payday.
August 2024
Microsoft’s Telstra deal backs Vicki Brady’s $1.6b infrastructure bet
The technology giant will become the first client of a big intercity fibre network being rolled out after the telco decided not to sell its InfraCo division.