Mark Schenkel advises leading AI developers, semiconductor companies and investors on their most significant AI and digital infrastructure transactions. His work includes complex strategic partnerships, compute and infrastructure arrangements and other transformative technology transactions. He has advised on AI compute and digital infrastructure transactions valued at more than $1 trillion.
Mark has played a central role in many of OpenAI's most consequential strategic partnerships, beginning with its landmark partnership with Microsoft. He advised OpenAI on transactions with Amazon/AWS, Google Cloud, Oracle, AMD, CoreWeave, Cerebras, SoftBank Group and other major technology providers, spanning AI commercialization and distribution, multi-billion-dollar compute commitments and the development of advanced AI infrastructure. He has also advised OpenAI on major AI infrastructure development, leasing and financing transactions, including in its partnership with SB Energy to develop multi-gigawatt data center campuses and its 20-year lease for approximately 8 gigawatts of capacity at Ohio's PORTS-Pike Technology Campus.
Mark also plays a central role in advising Broadcom on its strategic AI and digital infrastructure initiatives, including some of the largest and most innovative AI transactions in the market. His representations include Broadcom's strategic collaborations with Google and Anthropic involving TPU-based AI compute capacity; its establishment of the AI XPV Platform with Apollo and Blackstone, launching with a $35 billion transaction to support Anthropic's compute expansion; and its landmark $63 billion financing transaction with Bank of America, Blackstone, Citi and Morgan Stanley.
In addition, Mark serves as a trusted advisor to a number of other leading and emerging AI companies, including Thinking Machines Lab, Decart, Lila Sciences and Twelve Labs, advising on strategic compute and cloud partnerships, commercialization arrangements and other foundational transactions supporting the development, deployment and scaling of advanced AI technologies.
Beyond AI and digital infrastructure, Mark has extensive experience advising clients on transformative transactions across a broad range of industries, including technology, life sciences, media and telecommunications, financial services and industrial sectors. His practice encompasses technology-intensive mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic collaborations, licensing and commercialization and complex IP and technology matters, including data rights, open-source software, privacy and cybersecurity, AI governance, patent licensing and cross-licensing and IP dispute settlements.
Mark is widely recognized as one of the leading technology deal lawyers of his generation. He was named a “Dealmaker of the Year” by The American Lawyer (2024), recognized by Chambers USA as an “Up and Coming” practitioner in California Technology (2025–2026) and selected for Bloomberg Law's “They've Got Next: The 40 Under 40” (2024). He has also been recognized by IAM Patent 1000 (2022–2026) and by the Financial Times for Innovation in Deals & Financing (2023).
Mark’s notable representations include:
Artificial Intelligence and Digital Infrastructure
- OpenAI in its landmark partnership and subsequent strategic transactions with Microsoft, including its 2023, 2025 and 2026 agreements, including a $250 billion incremental Azure commitment
- OpenAI in its strategic compute and commercial partnerships with Amazon/AWS, including its initial $38 billion compute commitment and subsequent expanded partnership involving approximately 2 gigawatts of Trainium capacity, model commercialization and distribution of OpenAI's enterprise AI offerings
- OpenAI in strategic AI compute arrangements with Oracle (4.5 gigawatts of capacity), AMD (6 gigawatts of GPUs), CoreWeave (more than $22 billion of compute capacity), Google Cloud and Cerebras (750 megawatts of ultra-low-latency compute)
- OpenAI in its strategic partnership with SB Energy, including a $1 billion investment and collaboration to develop multi-gigawatt AI data center campuses and its landmark 20-year lease for approximately 8 gigawatts of AI compute capacity at the PORTS-Pike Technology Campus in Ohio
- OpenAI in its strategic partnership with SoftBank Group to develop and market advanced enterprise AI solutions in Japan
- Broadcom in its TPU-based AI compute collaborations with Google and Anthropic
- Broadcom in the establishment of its AI XPV Platform with Apollo and Blackstone, including an initial $35 billion transaction
- Broadcom in its landmark $63 billion AI compute financing transaction with Bank of America, Blackstone, Citi and Morgan Stanley
- Lila Sciences in strategic technology, compute and commercial matters.
- Thinking Machines Lab in strategic technology, compute and commercial matters
- Twelve Labs in strategic commercial transactions with AWS as part of its Amazon Bedrock engagement
- World Labs in its strategic compute partnership with Google Cloud
Intellectual Property, Technology and M&A
- ASML in its worldwide patent cross-license with Nikon, resolving 88 pending patent cases
- Intel in its sale of its smartphone 5G modem business and associated cellular patents to Apple
- Broadcom in its licensing of rights to its Wireless IoT Connectivity Business to Synaptics
- Dolby Laboratories in commercial, licensing and other IP transactions
- Lumus Technologies in strategic IP and commercial transactions involving augmented reality optics
- LiveRamp in IP matters relating to its $2.6 billion acquisition by Publicis
- RedBird Capital in the IP aspects of the more than $8 billion Paramount and National Amusements transaction
- L3Harris in its $1.96 billion acquisition of Viasat's tactical data links business and its $1.05 billion sale of its military training business to CAE
- AT&T in its spin-outs of DirecTV, WarnerMedia and Vrio, and DISH in transactions involving technology assets and 5G network infrastructure
- Recruit Holdings in its $1.2 billion acquisition of Glassdoor
Life Sciences and Other Industries
- Kite Pharma in its $11.9 billion acquisition by Gilead Sciences
- Baxter International in its $12.4 billion acquisition of Hill-Rom
- Verily Life Sciences in its joint venture with Santen Pharmaceutical to develop and commercialize ophthalmological diagnostics and therapies
- Apple Tree Partners in its sale of Syntimmune to Alexion Pharmaceuticals
- Biohaven Pharmaceuticals in corporate and commercial matters
- American Express in its $400 million acquisition of Tock from Squarespace and its acquisition of Kabbage
- Fiserv in its acquisition of First Data
- Sotheby's in its $3.7 billion acquisition by BidFair
