Brookfield to Start Cloud Business to Lower Cost of AI

Private-equity firm Brookfield is starting its own cloud business, going up against tech giants like Amazon by arguing it can bring down the costs of developing AI. The firm, which has long invested in infrastructure and energy, is becoming the first major investment firm to try to lease chips inside data centers directly to developers, rather than just owning or developing the physical structures that surround them.

The cloud business will be tied to a new $10 billion AI fund that the firm is starting and a cloud company called Radiant that Brookfield will operate. In November, Brookfield laid out plans to acquire up to $100 billion of land, data center and power assets for AI.