The financial architecture surrounding AI infrastructure increasingly resembles a separate market for borrowed capital. As reported by the Financial Times, over the past 12 months, the largest tech companies have issued up to $300 billion in guarantees for financing data centers and accelerators for AI.
Each project typically creates a separate structure (SPV) that attracts debt and owns the infrastructure. The tech company rents the capacity or provides a residual value guarantee: if the asset is later sold for less than the agreed level, the guarantor will cover the contractually stipulated difference. This model is used by Meta, Alphabet, Nvidia, and Broadcom. Thanks to the credit quality of a major partner, rates are only 1–1.5 percentage points higher than its own debt cost. Alphabet: within six months, obligations on credit derivatives grew from $16.9 billion to $43.8 billion. On the balance sheet, the fair value is $815 million, financial guarantees are $7.6 billion, plus an agreement for another $24.1 billion. In the event of a counterparty default, Alphabet can lease the facilities, transfer them to third parties, or settle the obligation with compensation.
In August, Nvidia provided guarantees up to $105 billion to SB Energy structures – facilities in Ohio for a 4.25 GW lease to OpenAI. Payments are possible in case of non-payments or bankruptcy of OpenAI; exposure will decrease as obligations are fulfilled. Meta: guarantees for Hyperion – about $28 billion, the threshold is decreasing. By the end of 2025, payments were considered unlikely. The guarantees helped attract about $27 billion in debt at a rate less than 1.5 percentage points above Meta's bond yield.
Broadcom: AI XPV platform, first tranche $35 billion, potential liability – about $29 billion. The scheme is applied for Anthropic supplies. The risk does not disappear. Morgan Stanley estimated the off-balance sheet obligations and credit support of seven hyperscalers and chip manufacturers at more than $3.1 trillion. "Off-balance sheet exposure has grown significantly over the past year. This significantly complicates the credit risk profiles of these companies," said KBRA Senior Director Doug Colandrea.
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