Google parent company Alphabet A $4.75 billion deal The acquisition of Intersect, a clean energy developer and data center infrastructure company, marks a major exit for a company that for years was headquartered in the Pacific Northwest.
More broadly for the industry, the deal adds a new twist to the competition between cloud giants to secure the energy needed to realize their AI ambitions.
The deal, announced Monday, is expected to give Google a team that can develop, build and generate power right next to data centers — bypassing the long wait times companies typically face to connect new facilities to the grid.
Founded in 2016, Intersect was based in Beaverton, Oregon, before officially moving its headquarters earlier this year to San Francisco.
Intersect has become a major player in utility-scale renewable energy, with major strengths in solar energy and battery storage. The company has raised more than $10 billion to date and already had a partnership with Google, which took a minority stake in a funding round last year.
“AI today is stuck behind one of the slowest and oldest industries in the country: electricity,” wrote Intersect founder and CEO Sheldon Kimberin a blog post announcing the deal. “The country has racks of GPUs that cannot be powered because there is not enough electricity.”
Microsoft and Amazon are also racing to secure power for AI data centers, but through different approaches. Neither has directly acquired an energy developer.
Alphabet’s agreement to acquire Intersect is structured as $4.75 billion in cash plus the assumption of debt. It is expected to close in the first half of 2026.
Intersect, which has more than 360 employees, will continue to operate under its own brand, with Kimber remaining as CEO. The company’s operations in Texas and California will be split and remain with current investors, including TPG Rise Climate and Climate Adaptive Infrastructure.
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