The €4.75b bet Google hopes keeps the lights on for AI
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Google agreed to buy Intersect for $4.75 billion to boost its data center power and AI capacity.
If you use Google products, AI runs under the hood, and that tech eats huge amounts of electricity. If Google runs short on power, your searches, maps, or cloud apps slow down. This deal shows Google sees a real crunch coming and wants fresh energy before it bites. The surprise is how far Google now goes into energy, not just servers.
Google shocked a lot of people with this move. Most folks expected another cloud startup, not a full energy and data center builder. Intersect runs big data hubs and energy plants out of San Francisco. Google first invested last year, then bought the whole company, including staff, projects, and multiple gigawatts of power. This is rare as big tech usually signs contracts instead of buyouts, especially under antitrust pressure. Google immediately gains data center projects already underway, experienced energy staff, and enough future power to support AI growth. The company is also accelerating its $40 billion investment in Haskell, Texas through 2027, with Intersect helping speed that build while spinning off some sites in Texas and California serving other customers. The bigger change is Google moving to own more of its power supply itself, potentially sparking an industry scramble.
The article highlights Google’s departure from its usual contract model to direct ownership in energy and data centers, emphasizing the scale of investment, the integration of energy assets and expertise, and the strategic importance of securing power for AI technology. It underscores the rarity of such a move in big tech under current antitrust climates and signals a broader industry trend toward vertical integration of energy resources.