Google snaps up datacenter power biz Intersect while xAI plans more capacity

The AI-fueled datacenter boom continues apace, with Google parent Alphabet moving to acquire energy and infrastructure biz Intersect, while Elon Musk's xAI is reportedly planning to expand beyond its already huge complex in Tennessee.

As we enter a new year, one thing seems set to continue, and that is the race to acquire more datacenter capacity for the development and operation of ever larger AI models.

Alphabet says it has inked a definitive agreement to acquire Intersect for $4.75 billion in cash, plus the assumption of its debts. Google already has a minority stake in the firm from an earlier funding round.

The move will provide Google with access to Intersect's "multiple gigawatts" of energy resources and the datacenter projects it has under development, while Intersect claimed that it is exploring a range of emerging technologies to diversify energy supplies.

However, Intersect is set to remain a ...