KKR, a global investment firm, has launched Helix Digital Infrastructure (Helix), a company focused on developing and financing infrastructure for artificial intelligence data centers and related assets. Helix was launched in partnership with Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), NVIDIA, a multinational technology company, and Vistra, a Fortune 500 integrated retail electricity and power generation company, with US$10 billion anchored investment in long-term capital commitments.
According to a press release, Helix aims to provide hyperscale cloud operators with integrated access to data centers, power, connectivity and other infrastructure needed to support growing AI demand. NVIDIA will act as a strategic partner, supporting the deployment of infrastructure aligned with its DSX AI factory platform. Vistra will serve as Helix’s preferred power provider.
The company also plans to invest in and manage assets including hyperscale data centers, power generation facilities, transmission and distribution infrastructure, and fiber networks. Adam Selipsky, the former chief executive of Amazon Web Services will be appointed as CEO of Helix.
“Large users of digital infrastructure have an urgent need to reduce complexity and unlock new capacity,” said Selipsky. “Helix combines significant long-term capital with the capabilities and expertise to deliver holistic AI infrastructure solutions with speed and scale, Helix is further strengthened by strategic partnerships with NVIDIA and Vistra across technology and power that will underpin hyperscalers’ AI strategies for years to come.”
In a LinkedIn post Selipsky further said, “Data centers, power, and connectivity have all too often been built on separate tracks. In the unprecedented infrastructure build-out of the AI era, that fragmentation has become an industry-wide bottleneck. This is slowing down the benefits of AI for enterprises, startups, governments, non-profits, and citizens worldwide.”
Through their strategic partnership the other company leaders have expressed their optimism for the founding and investment into Helix.
Sheikh Saoud Salem Abdulaziz Al-Sabah, Managing Director, KIA, said, “We view AI infrastructure as one of the defining long-term investment opportunities globally, and Helix is purpose-built to address it, Helix reflects a differentiated model that combines proven leadership, integrated capabilities and long-term capital required to deliver the next generation of critical digital infrastructure at scale.”
Jensen Huang, founder and CEO, NVIDIA, said, “Useful AI has arrived, and demand for AI factories is extraordinary, AI is driving the largest infrastructure buildout in modern history. With the NVIDIA DSX platform and the Helix strategic partnership, we are bringing together a proven AI factory blueprint, world-class infrastructure expertise from KKR, and long-term capital to help AI cloud providers build the next generation of intelligence infrastructure.”
Jim Burke, president and CEO, Vistra, “Power generation and grid interconnections are critical gating factors for AI infrastructure deployments, Helix brings together data center development, infrastructure and power capabilities under a single umbrella, providing a one-stop shop for large load customers.”
Helix is backed by KKR’s infrastructure platform, which manages more than US$ 100 billion in infrastructure assets and has invested more than US$ 70 billion across digital and power infrastructure sectors. The launch comes as AI companies increase spending on data centers, electricity generation, transmission networks and connectivity infrastructure. Industry participants have identified access to power, financing and project coordination as key constraints on AI infrastructure development.