BlackRock Inc is pursuing substantial infrastructure investments in Asia to support the booming artificial intelligence (AI) sector and rising energy and water demands, Bloomberg reports. Brad Kim, BlackRock’s Asia-Pacific infrastructure head, noted that data centre needs and water infrastructure must nearly double in five years, with energy consumption expected to rise by 50% over the next decade. Southeast Asia is attracting major investments from Amazon and Microsoft for data centres. Despite Asia’s USD1.7tr annual infrastructure gap through 2030, BlackRock plans to raise USD30bn for AI with Microsoft and partner with Google to procure 300 megawatts of solar energy from Taiwan’s New Green Power, emphasising the convergence of energy transition and digital infrastructure.