Waldemar Szlezak, KKR & Co.'s global head of digital infrastructure, has risen to prominence following his participation in a significant $500 billion pact with Nvidia Corp. to finance AI chips. Szlezak, a relative unknown outside the data center industry, appeared in a CNBC interview alongside prominent CEOs such as BlackRock Inc.'s Larry Fink, Blackstone Inc.'s Jon Gray, and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s David Solomon, all touting the massive financing deal.
The pact involves Wall Street's top power brokers raising funds from institutional investors to finance the construction and build-out of new AI factories. Szlezak described this new approach as asset-based financing, where AI infrastructure, including Nvidia's graphics processing units that can cost $3 million per rack, are viewed as revenue-generating assets. He explained that these systems can be securitized or divided for investors to participate in various parts of the financial stack, indicating a shift towards treating AI infrastructure as a new asset class.
This move comes as the AI build-out is expected to reach $7 trillion in global outlays by the end of the decade, according to McKinsey. The financial firms involved, including KKR, are gearing up to jump into this market, seeing significant money-making potential in the essential characteristics of AI equipment. KKR recently debuted Helix Digital Infrastructure with over $10 billion in capital commitments, in partnership with Nvidia and the Kuwait Investment Authority, to specifically address the demand for data center, power, and connectivity needs for hyperscalers.
