US private equity-backed data centres fuel TikTok owner’s growth

US private equity groups have invested billions of dollars in the data center that serves the owner of Tiktok, now threatened by the US crackdown on the best chips of Chinese companies in a delemeting insanity.

Blackstone, Bain Capital, Warberg Pencas and General Atlantic Atlantic Malaysia’s Data Centers Supporting companies that calculate Beijing-based Bindens as a tenant, according to four people with knowledge about this system.

Someone did it without knowing it Bidance To access high-NVIDIA chips, the legal lounge is planning to use or use sites to use or use it, as it develops its potential for artificial intelligence.

Chinese companies have been banned from buying Nvidia’s highest performance chips in the United States since 2021. However, they have often been able to secure access to their access to data centers abroad in Malaysia, which contains chips owned by third -party companies.

This lufoll will be closed by the rules in May that Chinese groups do not only prohibit restrictions from ownership of this advanced US technology, but also transfer to China to help create big language models.

These rules were issued just before Joe Biden’s administration left the office.

“If you want to create a data center in Malaysia with Nvidia[chips]The The The You have to meet this type of security requirements that include not in [China] In these data sets, the training of big language models, “US Under -Secretary Alan Estayez for industrial and protection told the Financial Times just before leaving the role last month.

The type of chips used in the data center is obscure and private equity groups do not always know, because the data center companies do not own the chips or hire them to clients.

However, many people who are knowledgeable about the matter have told FT that there are plans to use Malaysia’s data centers to access high-envyidia chips.

Bayout Groups accept that “you are supplying a building with electricity and a cool arrangement; what is on the server and server is not your business”, says a private equity executive.

In recent years, bytedance has used the growing data centers in Malaysia, especially in China, as it becomes the main player in China’s AI Race. This year is planning a larger order to increase foreign AI power with FT through this national rental agreement Been reported last monthThe Separately, the General Atlantic itself has invested in Biddance.

“Where the cat and mouse played the game [US] The Commerce Department has amended the parameters for capturing chips, “Matt Robinovits, a law firm, Pillsbury partner, said.

Under the new rules, a review process must be underway to ensure the identity of both the owner and operator used in the data centers.

It is not clear whether US President Donald Trump, who took action against China in his first term, would further change the chip exporting regulations and their use.

In May, the rules scheduled for the effects of data centers can reduce the value of the investment of the bayout groups if bytedance and other Chinese groups cannot use them to protect the best Nvidia chips, an adviser said.

However, high demand for global data centers can meet the vacancies, they have added.

Global Private Equity Groups have been running for investment in data centers in recent years, even other delming activities have slowed down, attracted to the expected internet use and contact with AI boom.

They have tried to remove themselves from the complex and politically filled businesses of supplies by the organization that operates the physical buildings of data centers, but not the owner of the chips inside.

“Our customers have no visibility or effect on the servers and equipment installed at the data center,” said Princeton Digital Group, supported by Warberg Pincas.

Bain said that its portfolio companies do not have access to the servers in the data centers they run and add that “all the jurisdiction we manages are obeyed by the relevant laws and regulations”. Blackstone and General Atlantic have refused to comment.

Bindes is anchor tenant at a data center in Johor, a state of southern Malaysia, owned by a unit of Bain Capital Portfolio Company Wantrix. It is also a tenant in Johor’s advantages, operated by Blackstone-owned Airtank, PDG and EPOC Digital, operated by the General Atlantic’s infrastructure manager Actus.

This year there are plans to spend more than $ 12 billion in AI infrastructure this year with the $ 6.8 billion investment outside China. However, US rules can complicate that investment.

The company told the FT, “Bytedance adheres to all applicable laws and regulations.”

Warberg Pincas agreed to invest up to $ 300 million in PDG in 2017 and then injected more funds. Blackstone has completed its $ 24 billion ($ 15 billion) Airtank acquisition of Sydney -based AirtankIn December, there are sites in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and Japan.

Bain bought China’s China in 2019, integrated with the Bridge Data centers and listed the joint organization of Nasdak in 2020. It was taken in 2023 in the $ 3BN evaluation of the private, known as Wontrix.

General Atlantic completed the purchase of Actus last year.