Apollo Backs $5.4 Billion Valor and xAI Data Center Compute Infrastructure Transaction with $3.5 Billion Capital Solution
GPU Lease Financing to Support xAI’s Second Data Center
NEW YORK, Jan. 07, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Apollo (NYSE: APO) today announced that Apollo-managed funds and affiliates (the “Apollo Funds”) have led a $3.5 billion capital solution for Valor Compute Infrastructure L.P. (“VCI”), a fund managed by Valor Equity Partners (“Valor”), to support its $5.4 billion acquisition and lease of data center compute infrastructure, including NVIDIA GB200 GPUs, to a subsidiary of xAI Corp (“xAI”). The financing uses a triple net lease structure and will support one of the world’s most powerful compute clusters for ongoing model training and development of Grok.
NVIDIA invested in VCI as an anchor Limited Partner alongside many of Valor’s institutional investors. Since inception in 2023, xAI has rapidly established its position as one of the leading companies in artificial intelligence, with Grok 4 demonstrating strong performance across benchmarks.
“This transaction represents a hallmark, downside-protected investment for Apollo in the AI infrastructure space and underscores our role as a leading provider of flexible, asset-based capital for next-generation assets,” said Apollo Partner Christopher Lahoud. “We are supporting the growth of this transformative technology by investing in the critical infrastructure that enables it, alongside highly regarded partners like Valor and NVIDIA, who are driving the next wave of innovation.”
“VCI is an extension of our continued service as a firm to xAI. The fund provides investors with the opportunity to invest in critical artificial intelligence compute infrastructure with quarterly cash distributions and upside through ownership of the compute assets,” said Valor Founder, CEO and CIO Antonio Gracias.
Apollo estimates that global data center infrastructure will require several trillion dollars of investment over the next decade, driven by secular trends associated with the Global Industrial Renaissance and accelerating demand for compute capacity and AI workloads. Since 2022, Apollo-managed funds and affiliates have deployed over $40 billioni into next-generation infrastructure, including compute capacity, digital platforms and renewable energy.
Latham & Watkins LLP served as legal counsel to the Apollo Funds, Proskauer Rose LLP served as legal counsel to VCI and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP served as legal counsel to xAI.
About Apollo
Apollo is a high-growth, global alternative asset manager. In our asset management business, we seek to provide our clients excess return at every point along the risk-reward spectrum from investment grade credit to private equity. For more than three decades, our investing expertise across our fully integrated platform has served the financial return needs of our clients and provided businesses with innovative capital solutions for growth. Through Athene, our retirement services business, we specialize in helping clients achieve financial security by providing a suite of retirement savings products and acting as a solutions provider to institutions. Our patient, creative, and knowledgeable approach to investing aligns our clients, businesses we invest in, our employees, and the communities we impact, to expand opportunity and achieve positive outcomes. As of September 30, 2025, Apollo had approximately $908 billion of assets under management. To learn more, please visit .
About Valor Equity Partners
Valor Equity Partners is an operational growth investment firm focused on investing in high-growth companies across various stages of development. For decades, Valor has served its companies with unique expertise to solve the challenges of growth and scale. Valor partners with leading companies and entrepreneurs who are committed to the highest standards of excellence and the courage to transform their industries. As of December 31, 2025, Valor had approximately $55 billion of assets under management. For more information on Valor Equity Partners, please visit .
Contacts
Noah Gunn
Global Head of Investor Relations
(212) 822-0540
Joanna Rose
Global Head of Corporate Communications
(212) 822-0491
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i Includes certain transactions that have signed but not yet closed. There can be no assurance that these transactions will close as expected or at all.
