Nvidia and xAI are set to join a partnership between BlackRock and Microsoft to invest billions in growing the infrastructure needed to power artificial intelligence projects.

Nvidia and Elon Musk's xAI have joined a consortium backed by Microsoft, investment fund MGX and BlackRock to expand AI infrastructure in the U.S., the companies said on Wednesday, as a global race to dominate the nascent technology intensifies.

AIP was launched last September by Microsoft Corp., BlackRock Inc. and MGX, an Abu Dhabi-based investment firm. BlackRock’s recently acquired GIP subsidiary is also a founding backer. It’s an infrastructure-focused fund that operates assets such as data centers, wind farms and airports.