Alphabet just locked in more power

New deal, same AI energy binge

Alphabet is back in the power-shopping aisle, this time via a deal with NiSource. The headline sounds sleepy — utilities are not exactly Marvel characters — but the subtext is huge: AI is turning electricity into the new scarce ingredient.

Why this matters

If you’ve been following the AI boom, you already know the story usually starts with chips and ends with cloud capacity. In the middle? A messy little thing called power. More data centers means more electricity, and more electricity means Big Tech has to lock down suppliers before the grid starts feeling like a group project nobody prepared for.

The investor angle

For Alphabet, this is less about a single contract and more about keeping the AI engine running without tripping over infrastructure limits. Deals like this can help secure growth, but they also underline how expensive the arms race is getting. The winners aren’t just the companies building models — it’s also the ones that can keep the lights on.

Big picture

This is another sign that AI infrastructure is becoming a three-legged stool: chips, data centers, and power. Miss one leg, and the whole thing gets wobbly.