(Reuters) - Nvidia and Elon Musk's xAI have joined a consortium backed by Microsoft, investment fund MGX and BlackRock to expand AI infrastructure in the U.S., the companies said on Wednesday, as a global race to dominate the nascent technology intensifies.

The group, formed last year with a goal to initially invest more than $30 billion in AI-related projects, is one of the biggest efforts to bankroll data centers and energy facilities needed to power AI applications such as ChatGPT.

The additions come two months after U.S. President Donald Trump announced Stargate, a private sector AI infrastructure initiative backed by SoftBank Group, OpenAI and Oracle, with plans to mobilize up to $500 billion.

Investors have committed $100 billion for immediate deployment, with the rest expected over the next four years.

The consortium - which includes BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners - on Wednesday renamed itself as AI Infrastructure Partnership. Nvidia, a technical advisor, will continue in the role.

Training AI models and large-scale data processing require huge computational power, which increases energy consumption. To meet the demands, tech companies are deploying thousands of chips in clusters, driving a surge for specialized data centers.

To fund the computing and power needs, the consortium has been looking to raise money from investors, asset owners and corporations, with a goal to mobilize up to $100 billion, including debt financing.

"AIP has attracted significant capital and partner interest since its inception in September," the group said, but did not disclose the total funds raised so far.

GE Vernova and utility firm NextEra Energy will also be a part of the group, it said, adding the renewable energy company will work on supply-chain planning and high efficiency energy solutions.

AIP said its investments will also focus on U.S. partners and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.