Apollo and Blackstone Secure $35B Financing for Google’s AI Chip Leasing
GOOG•Apollo Global Management and Blackstone finalized a $35 billion financing deal to lease Google's custom AI chips (TPUs) to Anthropic, with Broadcom backstopping senior debt. The package ranks among the largest private credit transactions ever and highlights surging demand for Google's AI hardware.
1. Deal Structure
Apollo Global Management and Blackstone arranged a $35 billion financing package for Anthropic, split across three tranches and syndicating roughly half to external investors. Broadcom backstops the largest senior debt portions, while Morgan Stanley advised on the transaction.
2. Google's Custom Chips
Capital from the deal will fund leases of Google's tensor processing units (TPUs) to Anthropic, providing dedicated AI hardware backed by one of the largest private credit facilities ever executed.
3. Market Implications
The deal marks a milestone in the emerging chip-financing market, which is expected to grow as AI developers require massive compute capacity and novel debt structures to finance data center hardware.
4. Future Outlook
Broadcom plans to leverage the AI XPV platform with Apollo, Blackstone and other investors to deploy over 20 gigawatts of compute capacity through 2028, potentially extending TPU leasing to other AI labs.
