Google’s $4.75B Play on Powering the AI Era

Alphabet, Google’s parent company, is making a straightforward move to address one of AI’s least glamorous but most urgent problems: power. 

The company announced plans this week to acquire data center and energy infrastructure firm Intersect for $4.75 billion in cash, plus the assumption of debt, in a deal expected to close in the first half of 2026.

Google gains data center control as AI infrastructure strains existing capacity

The acquisition gives Google more control over how quickly it can bring new data centers online. At a deeper level, it’s meant to remove energy as a bottleneck for AI infrastructure at a time when demand is racing far ahead of what the grid can support.

“Intersect will help us expand capacity, operate more nimbly in building new power generation in lockstep with new data center load, and reimagine energy solutions to drive US innovation and leadership,” said Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet.

Energy has become the real constraint

Chips aren’t the only constraint on AI anymore. Power is. Data centers can be loaded with GPUs, but without electricity on day one, they’re pretty much stuck waiting on grid timelines that move at their own pace.

Intersect’s model is designed to sort of sidestep that friction. The company develops utility-scale renewable energy, battery storage, and co-located power projects that sit alongside data centers. That means power and compute are planned simpatico.

As Intersect founder and CEO Sheldon Kimber put it in a blog post announcing the deal, “AI today is stuck behind one of the slowest, oldest industries in the country: electric power. The country has racks full of GPUs that can’t be energized because there isn’t enough electricity for them.”

Why Google wants Intersect specifically

Founded in 2016, Intersect has grown into a major clean-energy developer, with roughly $15 billion in assets operating or under construction across the U.S. Google already knew the company well, having taken a minority stake in Intersect during a funding round last year.

The acquisition pulls Intersect’s team, active projects, and development pipeline directly into the Google ecosystem. Intersect will continue operating under its own brand, with Kimber staying on as CEO, and will partner closely with Google’s technical infrastructure team on current and future projects.

“Modern infrastructure is the linchpin of American competitiveness in AI. We share Google’s conviction that energy innovation and community investment are the pillars of what must come next,” Kimber said in Alphabet’s announcement.

The bigger AI infrastructure picture

Google isn’t alone in scrambling for power, but its approach sticks out a bit. Microsoft and Amazon have pursued nuclear partnerships and long-term power agreements, but Google is acquiring a developer outright. That gives it tighter control over energy sourcing, timelines, and capacity planning as AI workloads continue to superscale.

AI growth now depends as much on energy strategy as it does on models or silicon. By bringing Intersect in-house, Google is betting that owning more of the energy stack is the fastest way to keep its AI ambitions moving forward.

It also fits a pattern Channel Insider has been calling out: as AI scales, power is becoming just as important as compute. Google bringing an energy developer in-house is a clear signal that keeping AI moving forward now depends as much on infrastructure and electricity as it does on chips and models.