Banks and investors grow wary of AI debt after market selloff, Reuters reports
Banking and credit sources say some lenders are now reluctant to fund new AI deals even with guarantees from big tech names; the lenders are not named.
Why it matters
Debt has been the main way the AI data-centre build-out is being paid for, so a pullback by lenders matters as much as any chip order. According to the sources, the shift came only in the past few days, after the Nasdaq 100 lost $2.5 trillion in market value on Thursday and entered a correction, and as the midterm results raised the prospect of more oversight of data centres. Some lenders hesitated even when Anthropic or Google stood behind a deal. Watch whether pending neocloud and data-centre loans are repriced or delayed.
Key facts
- Shift came in the past few days, per two sources
- Nasdaq 100 lost $2.5 trillion in market value on Thursday
- Some lenders balked even with Anthropic or Google backstops
- Goldman Sachs Research projects $420 billion hyperscaler debt issuance in 2027
- That is more than 60% above its $250 billion estimate for 2026
- Anthropic and Google declined to comment