Blackstone's flagship property fund, valued at $68bn, has transitioned from being a major property buyer to a significant seller. This shift is aimed at generating liquidity to address redemptions while also investing billions in data centres to support the growing artificial intelligence industry. Since last year's autumn, Breit has refrained from making large purchases and has instead sold more than $10bn worth of assets. These sales have allowed Breit to realize gains from successful investments and increase liquidity, resulting in approximately $2. 5bn in investment gains. By November of last year, the fund had returned over $8bn to investors, after imposing limitations on withdrawals in response to a wave of cash withdrawal requests. To manage the surging redemption demands, Breit underwent major asset sales, such as the sale of a 49% stake in two Las Vegas casinos for $2. 8bn. These strategic disposals, combined with other recent sales including an $800mn resort sale in Texas and a $2. 2bn portfolio sale of self-storage properties, have generated liquidity for Blackstone to prepare for what it sees as a "once in a generation" opportunity in constructing properties to cater to the increasing demand for computing power driven by artificial intelligence. Blackstone plans to invest more than $8bn in building new data centres for various large-scale technology companies. This investment drive is facilitated by Blackstone's ownership of QTS Realty Trust, a real estate trust focused on data centres, acquired for over $10bn in mid-2021.

QTS's continuous expansion has resulted in its valuation soaring to approximately $20bn, doubling what Blackstone initially paid. Blackstone believes that this investment has the potential to become its most profitable real estate venture, as large technology companies engage in an AI competition that demands substantial digital infrastructure investments estimated at around $1tn in the coming years. Blackstone has spent over $1bn purchasing land across five states in the US for the construction of new data centres. Additionally, the group has secured energy contracts with local utilities to accommodate the significant power requirements of these planned properties. The expected cost of constructing each data centre can exceed $1bn due to the scale and complexity of the projects. Blackstone's investment in QTS was divided among Breit, which targets affluent investors, a similar fund focusing on institutional investors, and its infrastructure fund. As the size of QTS's leased space has tripled since Blackstone's acquisition, the company plans to further double its size through additional investments. This ambitious venture aligns with Blackstone's objective of prioritizing properties designed to cater to the escalating data needs resulting from the surge in AI investments throughout its $1tn asset group.