Eric Schmidt‘s data center development firm, Bolt Data and Energy, is reportedly in negotiations with Alphabet’s Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) to commence construction on a large data center project in West Texas.
Google is contemplating a 250-megawatt commitment, but the exact size of the potential transaction is yet to be determined as the talks are still ongoing, reported Business Insider on Monday.
The sources told the publication that the land owned by Texas Pacific Land (TPL) would provide Bolt Data and Energy, co-founded by former Google CEO Schmidt, with ample power and water for cooling, essential resources that have been under strain due to the rapid growth of data center development across the country.
Google did not immediately respond to Benzinga‘s request for comment.
AI Data Center Push Targets Energy Limits
Schmidt has been vocal about the potential of AI, stating that the technology is “underhyped” and will revolutionize industries from finance to healthcare.
His firm’s potential collaboration with Google for a large-scale data center project is critical, especially in light of Schmidt’s previous assertion to Fortune in January that energy is the main constraint in scaling AI. Schmidt’s firm aims to address this challenge by leveraging TPL’s land, abundant water, and access to low-cost energy to create the necessary infrastructure to meet the growing demand for compute.
Bolt raised $150 million in its first funding round in December, including a $50 million investment from Texas Pacific Land, and plans to develop data centers on land owned by the company in West Texas.
Meanwhile, Alphabet posted an upbeat Q4 results with CEO Sundar Pichai predicting the 2026 CapEx investments to be in a range of $175 billion to $185 billion. Google Cloud saw sustained increases in customer demand, with revenue up 48% year-over-year. JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth believes the year-over-year doubling of capital expenditures reflects a position of strength for Alphabet.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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