$GOOGL - BLACKSTONE AI CLOUD VENTURE HITS SITE DELAYS Alphabet and Blackstone’s $5B “Project Braid” venture is running into delays at several planned data-center sites as it prepares to rent Google TPUs to customers starting in 2027. Google scrapped an earlier plan for Crusoe to develop its Cheyenne, Wyoming site and took over the project itself, while another location lacked the required transformers. Texas’ freeze on new data-center projects has also disrupted plans. Despite the setbacks, Project Braid says it remains on track to deliver 500MW of capacity next year and has identified 29 potential sites, with demand reportedly running ahead of expectations. The venture is strategically important for Google because it gives the company another way to expand TPU availability beyond Google Cloud while shifting part of the infrastructure cost and execution risk off its own balance sheet. Executives involved in the project now reportedly assume data-center builds have only about a 50% chance of hitting delivery dates, down from roughly 90% three years ago. Source: Bloomberg