Artificial intelligence's electricity and data center build-out is creating what Larry Fink described as a major new capital opportunity, with more than 70 gigawatts of added U.S. power capacity needed to support AI infrastructure and about $500 billion now being raised for the sector, followed by trillions of dollars more over the coming years. Speaking to CNBC, the BlackRock CEO said a 100-megawatt data center can generate as many as 3 million labor hours of employment demand and argued that computing capacity and data center financing are increasingly becoming a distinct asset class. He likened the opportunity to the birth of the mortgage-backed securities market in the 1970s, calling it a potential next phase of financial engineering. The remarks add to BlackRock's broader AI infrastructure push through AIP, its partnership with Microsoft, Nvidia and Abu Dhabi's MGX, which targets up to $100 billion including debt financing and has already backed a $40 billion Aligned Data Centers deal. Fink has also warned that AI may concentrate wealth among large companies and institutional investors unless individuals gain broader access to market participation, infrastructure funds and alternative investments.