Google Cloud Inks Landmark AI Partnership with European Buyout Giant EQT
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EQT has inked a major deal with Alphabet Inc.'s Google Cloud, aimed at turbocharging artificial intelligence initiatives across more than 300 companies held within the buyout firm's sprawling portfolio. The agreement gives these businesses access to Google Cloud's suite of AI and security tools, including the Gemini Enterprise Agent platform for building custom AI applications, according to Reuters. Portfolio companies will also receive early access to select upcoming Google Cloud AI products, giving them a competitive edge in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.
EQT, whose holdings span enterprise software, healthcare, and other sectors, said the partnership is designed to help its companies move beyond isolated AI experiments and into full-scale deployment. The tie-up reflects a broader trend where private equity firms are increasingly embedding AI capabilities into their portfolio strategies to drive operational efficiency and long-term growth.
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Under the deal, Google Cloud's engineers will work directly with EQT's in-house AI transformation group, a team of roughly 35 specialists. The agreement also opens the door to Google Cloud's partner ecosystem, which Reuters notes includes more than 330,000 professionals at firms such as Accenture, Deloitte, and KPMG. This network enables portfolio companies to tap into deep expertise in AI strategy, implementation, and scaling.
Bert Janssens, EQT's co-head of private capital in Europe and North America, said the partnership would help "management teams future-proof their businesses and be more competitive in an increasingly AI-driven economy." The comment underscores the urgency among private equity players to integrate AI as a core competitive lever—especially as the technology reshapes industries from healthcare to financial services.
This is not Google Cloud's first foray into the private equity space. In April, the tech giant signed similar agreements with Vista Equity Partners and Thoma Bravo, allowing software companies in those portfolios to list products in Google Cloud's marketplace. The EQT deal, however, is one of the largest by portfolio size, signaling a growing appetite for AI infrastructure among buyout firms.
Meanwhile, Alphabet and Blackstone Inc. announced this week that they are forming a new AI cloud and data center venture in the U.S. Blackstone said it will initially invest $5 billion in equity to bring 500 megawatts of data center capacity online by 2027, with plans for further expansion. The new company will offer data center capacity alongside Google's custom-built AI chips—Tensor Processing Units (TPUs)—through a compute-as-a-service model. This move comes as Big Tech companies are expected to spend more than $800 billion on AI infrastructure in 2026 alone, including data centers, networking equipment, and advanced semiconductors. The surge in spending reflects the explosive demand for computing power driven by generative AI tools and enterprise AI applications.
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The partnership between Google Cloud and EQT underscores a critical shift: AI is no longer just a technology play for the tech sector—it is becoming a strategic imperative for private equity firms managing diverse portfolios. By equipping portfolio companies with AI tools early, EQT aims to accelerate digital transformation, improve operating margins, and create exit opportunities in an increasingly AI-native economy.
Industry analysts note that such deals also benefit Google Cloud, which is competing fiercely with Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure for enterprise AI workloads. Securing partnerships with large private equity firms gives Google a direct channel into hundreds of mid-market and enterprise companies that might otherwise be locked into rival cloud ecosystems.
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