🎥 Blue Owl's Matt A'Hearn - a generational opportunity in financing digital infrastructure

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

Today’s episode dives into digital infrastructure and how it powers the growth of artificial intelligence and other major trends in digitalization and electrification.

We sat down in Blue Owl’s NYC office with Matt A’Hearn, an asset management entrepreneur and executive at the firm.

Matt is a Senior Managing Direct at Blue Owl and Head of Digital Infrastructure. He’s responsible for leading the overall management of Digital Infrastructure, including strategy, investments, and portfolio management.

Prior to joining Blue Owl, Matt was the Managing Partner and a Founder of IPI Partners, the predecessor firm to Blue Owl Digital Infrastructure. IPI was acquired by Blue Owl in 2024.

Prior to founding IPI, Matt led the global investment banking practice in communications infrastructure at Moelis & Company.

Matt and I had a fascinating and thought-provoking discussion about the future of digital infrastructure. We covered:

* The how and the why of digital infrastructure.

* Investing in data centers.

* The evolution of digital infrastructure.

* How to best partner with and serve the need of hyperscalers.

* The importance of power generation for AI.

* How there are different ways to approach gaining exposure to AI as an investment theme.

Thanks Matt for coming on the show to share your wisdom and expertise in private markets and digital infrastructure.

Thanks for reading Alt Goes Mainstream! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work - writing and podcasting about the convergence of private markets and private wealth since December 2020.

Clip #1: This is not just an AI story when we think about data centers and digital infrastructure.

Clip #2: What is the size and scale of the capital required to be able to work with hyperscalers?

Clip #3: Where does digital infrastructure as an investment opportunity fit into an investor’s portfolio?

A word from AGM podcast sponsor, Ultimus Fund Solutions

This episode of Alt Goes Mainstream is brought to you by Ultimus Fund Solutions, a leading full-service fund administrator for asset managers in private and public markets. As private markets continue to move into the mainstream, the industry requires infrastructure solutions that help funds and investors keep pace. In an increasingly sophisticated financial marketplace, investment managers must navigate a growing array of challenges: elaborate fund structures, specialized strategies, evolving compliance requirements, a growing need for sophisticated reporting, and intensifying demands for transparency.

To assist with these challenging opportunities, more and more fund sponsors and asset managers are turning to Ultimus, a leading service provider that blends high tech and high touch in unique and customized fund administration and middle office solutions for a diverse and growing universe of over 450 clients and 1,800 funds, representing $500 billion assets under administration, all handled by a team of over 1,000 professionals. Ultimus offers a wide range of capabilities across registered funds, private funds and public plans, as well as outsourced middle office services. Delivering operational excellence, Ultimus helps firms manage the ever-changing regulatory environment while meeting the needs of their institutional and retail investors. Ultimus provides comprehensive operational support and fund governance services to help managers successfully launch retail alternative products.

Visit www.ultimusfundsolutions.com to learn more about Ultimus’ technology enhanced services and solutions or contact Ultimus Executive Vice President of Business Development Gary Harris on email at [email protected].

We thank Ultimus for their support of alts going mainstream.

Show Notes

00:00 Our Sponsor, Ultimus

01:57 Welcome to the Alt Goes Mainstream Podcast

02:05 Introduction to Today’s Guest: Matt A’Hearn

03:39 The Evolution of Digital Infrastructure

04:50 The Importance of Digital Infrastructure

05:44 Founding IPI and Early Opportunities

05:58 Cloud and Data Center Growth

07:15 Partnerships with Hyperscale Companies

08:17 Challenges in Digital Infrastructure

13:33 The Role of Power in Digital Infrastructure

16:19 Site Selection and Power Acquisition

19:49 Scale and Capital in Digital Infrastructure

23:13 The Growing Demand for Data Centers

24:15 Investment Opportunities in Digital Infrastructure

26:17 The Importance of Scale in Investments

26:36 Blue Owl’s Comprehensive Solutions

27:10 The Acquisition of IPI Partners

27:33 Looking Ahead: The Future of Digital Infrastructure

27:38 Feedback from Hyperscalers

28:03 Joining Blue Owl

28:28 Investing in Digital Infrastructure

29:36 Evolution of IPI

30:04 Founding IPI

30:50 Building a Differentiated Platform

31:42 Partner-First Approach

32:05 Early AI Insights

33:19 Growth of AI and Cloud

34:37 Future of AI and Cloud Capacity

35:35 Digital Infrastructure in Investment Portfolios

37:36 Underwriting Digital Infrastructure

40:49 Hyperscalers and Data Centers

41:51 Alternative Asset Management Capabilities

42:57 Merging Investment Cultures

44:35 Challenges of Integration

45:11 Opportunities in the Wealth Channel

47:59 Evergreen Structures and Digital Infrastructure

49:50 Scale and Competition in Private Markets

52:20 Future Trends in Digital Infrastructure

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant.

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