Alphabet, which relies heavily on Google’s search engine and various online services for most of its income, is fully buying out Intersect after having initially purchased a stake in the San Francisco-based startup last year. Intersect had previously raised $2.1 billion from Google and other early investors.
Following the acquisition, expected to close in the first half of next year, Alphabet plans to let Intersect operate autonomously while continuing its pursuit of necessary energy sources for the extensive data centers being developed to fuel AI services from Google and competitors like OpenAI.
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The energy-intensive data centers, often referred to as AI factories, have sparked backlash in communities where residents perceive their rising electricity bills as a burden tied to a tech boom that could potentially falter.
Intersect is dedicated to increasing and diversifying energy supply to manage power costs. It is currently engaged in a data center project for Mountain View, California-based Alphabet in Haskell County, Texas.
Google’s advancements in AI have contributed to a more than 60% rise in Alphabet’s stock price this year, resulting in an additional $1.4 trillion in shareholder value.
