This article first appeared on GuruFocus.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) has agreed to provide a $10 billion private credit loan to Australian AI infrastructure firm Firmus Technologies, a financing that reflects the accelerating pace of capital flowing into global data center expansion. The funding, alongside participation from Coatue Capital, is set to support the next phase of Firmus' rollout across Australia and will incorporate Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) chips, according to the company. Firmus plans to develop data centers with a combined capacity of up to 1.6 gigawatts by 2028, and the company is expected to pursue a public listing in Sydney later this year.

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The transaction comes as Australia increasingly positions itself as a key beneficiary of the global AI infrastructure buildout. Research from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia suggests the country has become the world's third-largest AI investment destination behind the US and China and is on track to add roughly A$150 billion worth of data centers. Firmus has emerged as one of the most active developers in this trend, financing projects spanning Perth, Sydney, and Melbourne. In November, the company raised A$500 million to fund site development, infrastructure deployment, and energy-related agreements, with its valuation estimated at around A$6 billion at that time.

More broadly, the scale of Firmus' financing underscores how debt is becoming a central tool in funding AI-related infrastructure. Moody's Ratings has projected that investment in areas such as data centers could exceed $3 trillion over the next five years, with much of that spending expected to be debt-financed. At the same time, Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) could collectively spend up to $650 billion in 2026 as competition in AI intensifies. While this spending highlights strong long-term demand drivers, it has also led some investors to question how much of the current cash outlay may ultimately translate into sustainable returns.

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