Apollo Acquires Majority Stake in Stream Data Centers to Capitalize on AI-Driven Infrastructure Growth

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Apollo has agreed to buy a majority interest in Stream Data Centers (SDC) as part of a strategic bet on the booming demand for digital infrastructure driven by artificial intelligence and cloud computing. Data centers, critical hubs housing computing hardware, are expected to see global spending of up to $6.7 trillion by 2030, according to McKinsey.

Stream Data Centers specializes in building, leasing, and managing large-scale data center campuses. It has completed over 20 projects and has an extensive pipeline with multi-gigawatt capacity. Apollo aims to scale SDC to become a key partner for major hyperscalers like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, who increasingly rely on third-party developers for land acquisition, regulatory approvals, and power sourcing for their data centers.

Apollo partner Trevor Mills emphasized the ongoing and diverse demand from hyperscalers requiring collaboration with external developers. This investment aligns with rising capital expenditures by tech giants — Meta recently raised its annual spending forecast by $2 billion to as much as $72 billion, Microsoft plans over $30 billion in its fiscal first quarter, and Alphabet increased its 2024 capex target to $85 billion, with further rises expected to meet AI demands.

While financial terms were not disclosed, Apollo’s president Jim Zelter highlighted that data centers will need $1.5 trillion in external financing by 2030, with private credit accounting for $800 billion — a space where Apollo leads. The International Energy Agency forecasts electricity demand for data centers will more than double by then, surpassing Japan’s current total consumption.

Other major asset managers like Blackstone, KKR, and BlackRock have also committed billions to data center investments, underscoring the sector’s growing importance. Stream Data Centers’ management will retain a minority stake and continue running operations post-deal.

OpenAI’s GPT-5 Model Nears Release Amid High Expectations

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OpenAI is on the brink of releasing GPT-5, the next-generation language model succeeding GPT-4, which powered the ChatGPT phenomenon starting in 2022. Industry insiders and early testers express cautious optimism, praising its enhanced coding and scientific problem-solving capabilities, though some say the leap from GPT-4 to GPT-5 feels less dramatic compared to the jump from GPT-3 to GPT-4.

OpenAI, backed by Microsoft and currently valued at around $300 billion, has faced challenges scaling GPT-5 due to limitations in available training data and increased complexity in training runs that can last months and are prone to hardware failures. Unlike GPT-4, which saw significant gains through increased compute power and data, GPT-5 incorporates a novel approach called “test-time compute,” directing extra processing power dynamically to solve complex reasoning and decision-making tasks.

Since the debut of ChatGPT nearly three years ago, generative AI has rapidly advanced. GPT-4 notably outperformed its predecessor by passing the simulated bar exam in the top 10%, setting a new standard in AI capabilities. Meanwhile, competitors like Google and Anthropic have developed rival models, and open-source initiatives such as Meta’s Llama 3 have narrowed the performance gap.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman noted earlier in 2025 that GPT-5 would blend traditional large model training with test-time compute techniques, reflecting the company’s increasingly sophisticated and multifaceted AI portfolio. The broader AI industry awaits the release with anticipation, expecting GPT-5 to unlock new applications beyond conversational AI toward fully autonomous task execution.

AI Accounting Startup Rillet Raises $70 Million in Andreessen Horowitz, ICONIQ-led Funding Round

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Rillet, an AI-driven accounting software startup, announced it has secured $70 million in a Series B funding round co-led by venture capital giants Andreessen Horowitz and ICONIQ. The new capital round values the company at approximately $500 million, according to sources close to the deal.

This latest round also included participation from Sequoia Capital, Oak HC/FT, and FOG Ventures, bringing Rillet’s total funding to over $100 million within a few months. Founded by Nicolas Kopp, the former U.S. head of digital bank N26, Rillet aims to disrupt traditional accounting tools dominated by Oracle and Microsoft by offering AI-powered ledger software that automates accounting tasks and delivers real-time insights.

Rillet’s platform integrates with systems such as Salesforce, Stripe, and Brex, allowing finance teams to close books within hours instead of weeks. The startup has already attracted over 200 customers, including AI-assisted coding platform Windsurf and e-commerce marketing company Postscript.

The company reported doubling its annual recurring revenue in just 12 weeks and has formed partnerships with accounting firms like Armanino and Wiss. The fresh funding will accelerate platform development and expand the engineering team.

As part of the funding round, Andreessen Horowitz’s Alex Rampell and ICONIQ’s Seth Pierrepont will join Rillet’s board of directors.