CATL founder Robin Zeng is positioning himself in the AI sector. On May 13, PJ Millennium, an affiliate of CATL, announced that two of its subsidiaries plan to acquire up to approximately 650 million Class A ordinary shares of VNET Group. VNET Group, a major player in computing power, was the first Chinese IDC firm to list on a U.S. exchange. It operates over 50 data centers and is capitalizing on the AI boom. Zeng's side is preparing up to $942 million, roughly 6.4 billion yuan, to pay to the seller, Shandong Hi-Speed Holdings, to complete the transaction. Upon completion, they could obtain a 38.1% stake, becoming the largest shareholder of VNET Group.
"Energy storage companies are keen to secure high-quality power loads," an industry insider noted. The source added that Shandong Hi-Speed Holdings had a similar goal when it initially invested in VNET Group: to build a "green power + computing power" ecosystem, though it lacked the capability to fully execute the plan.
Zeng is employing an indirect strategy for this move into computing centers. Instead of CATL directly participating, the non-controlling affiliate PJ Millennium is making the investment into the core infrastructure of computing power. The buyer's valuation of VNET Group at $2.47 billion is roughly in line with its market price, showing little discount. Zeng is not seeking control; founder Chen Sheng will continue to lead the company. PJ Millennium is acquiring Class A ordinary shares, while Chen himself holds Class B shares with superior voting rights, controlling 40.8% of the voting power until the end of 2025.
Chen stated in an announcement that after the deal closes, both parties will work together to advance end-to-end innovation in the next-generation AI data center industry. Coincidentally, both Chen Sheng and Robin Zeng are from Fujian province and are of a similar age, both born in the 1960s.
"VNET Group is his 'child,' his everything," a person close to Chen told reporters, noting that Chen works about 100 hours a week, maintaining a fully committed attitude. In early March, Chen's team reportedly secured a major order to provide approximately 500 MW of computing capacity to ByteDance. VNET Group's key focus this year is expanding its data centers, with a capital expenditure guidance for 2026 as high as 10 to 12 billion yuan.
"The vast majority will support the annual delivery plan of 450-500 MW," management explicitly stated.
Through this acquisition, Zeng can enter the market alongside his energy storage equipment, profiting from electricity price differentials. For example, a medium-sized AI data center (500 cabinets) operating at full capacity around the clock, including cooling systems, can consume over 20 million kWh of electricity monthly, with power bills easily reaching 10-20 million yuan. By installing energy storage systems to store low-cost electricity at night for use during peak daytime hours, it could save over 2 million yuan per month.
For Zeng and CATL, investing in computing centers not only provides a massive application scenario for their energy storage batteries but also potentially opens up a promising energy business. Shandong Hi-Speed Holdings, which is cashing out, is also a winner. It acquired 650 million shares of VNET Group in 2023 for only about $300 million; in just three years, it stands to gain approximately $640 million.
By investing in VNET Group, Zeng has secured a crucial foothold in a high-growth sector. In terms of power load, computing centers are projected to be the fastest-growing segment over the next five years. Estimates suggest that by 2030, electricity consumption by computing centers could account for over 8% of total societal electricity use.
Many are unaware that tasks like large model training and film rendering are schedulable. Leveraging this characteristic, data centers can operate at full capacity during off-peak electricity price periods and reduce load or shift operations during peak price hours.
CATL itself holds the leading position in the energy storage battery market. VNET Group manages a scale of over 78,000 cabinets, ranking among the top three independent IDC operators and serving as a critical physical gateway for AI computing power deployment.
Thus, with one hand on energy storage equipment and the other controlling computing centers, Zeng can become a "time shifter" of energy. His team can store low-cost electricity from sources like wind and solar power and release it during peak computing demand periods. By relying on the flexible regulation functions of energy storage systems, they can achieve value conversion between electrical energy and computing power, truly realizing computing-power synergy.
To complete the entire chain, Zeng has already moved into the upstream power transmission segment. In April, CATL announced plans to invest 4.1 billion yuan to acquire a 49% stake in Zhongheng Technology, indirectly gaining control of the listed company Hangzhou Zhonhen Electric Co.,Ltd.. Zhongheng Electric's HVDC power supply technology is key to improving data center energy efficiency. It possesses comprehensive energy system management experience and power supply-side resources, with its products and solutions also applied in data centers for giants like Alibaba and Tencent.
"A complete 'computing-power synergy' must undoubtedly revolve around green power, integrating energy storage, power distribution, IDC, and AI computing to build industry barriers," Du Xiaotian, founder of an energy storage alliance, told reporters.
In just over a month, Zeng has orchestrated two acquisitions totaling over 10 billion yuan, successfully piecing together a full-link energy network spanning from power transmission and storage to consumption. This transforms the concept of computing-power synergy into a tangible business.
The CATL that Zeng manages is expanding beyond the scope of a battery manufacturer. In recent years, he has led a series of seemingly boundary-breaking cross-sector layouts, pushing CATL into various scenarios like cloud services, mining, zero-carbon industrial parks, and computing centers. The company defines this shift as "incremental growth across all domains."
"Continuously promoting the evolution of batteries from 'products' to 'services'... The ultimate mission of the new energy industry is to drive the decarbonization of the energy system," he wrote in his 2025 letter to shareholders.
Zeng himself enthusiastically acts as a walking evangelist, tirelessly elaborating on his views regarding "energy system transformation" and sharing his "photovoltaic + storage" system solutions. In a February speech in Dubai, UAE, he revealed that CATL's energy storage systems, utilizing AI technology, efficiently dispatch fluctuating energy demands for SenseTime's AI data center in Shanghai, enhancing energy management efficiency.
Zeng cited an example: the developed high-voltage grid-forming energy storage technology can effectively address challenges related to the stable operation of power systems with a high proportion of new energy. CATL has already used this technology to build the world's first 100% green power direct-connected zero-carbon industrial park in China.
In Zeng's view, the future energy system will be "distributed," "intelligent," and "recyclable." He defines CATL as a builder moving toward a "zero-carbon ecosystem," an integral part of the entire energy system, far more than just an equipment provider.
Du Xiaotian revealed to reporters that projects CATL is undertaking overseas are no longer merely about battery cell shipments but increasingly involve system-level deliveries. Its business model is shifting from "product output" to "technology and ecosystem output."
Currently, CATL possesses strong profit resilience, with quarterly net profit exceeding 20 billion yuan. After completing a new round of share issuance, its cash and cash-equivalent assets on hand are expected to surpass 440 billion yuan.
For Chen Sheng and VNET Group, operating in the capital- and operation-intensive IDC industry, bringing in Zeng and CATL undoubtedly adds a powerful ally, facilitating the large-scale expansion of data centers.
"CATL's greatest competitive edge now is its capital-driven supply chain ecosystem model," Du Xiaotian commented.
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