Google Backs Hut 8’s $3.25B AI Center Bond as CEO Warns of Zero Search Traffic
Google CEO Sundar Pichai advised publishers to plan as if search traffic drops to zero as AI-generated answers now resolve queries on result pages, reducing organic clicks. Google is acting as financial backstop on Hut 8’s $3.25 billion, 16.5-year bond financing River Bend AI data center under a $7 billion, 15-year lease.
1. Pichai Advises Planning for Zero Search Traffic
Google CEO Sundar Pichai indicated that publishers should structure their business forecasts as if Search traffic could drop to zero, highlighting that AI-generated answers now resolve many user queries directly on the results pages. This shift threatens organic click-throughs for ecommerce stores, service providers and media outlets that rely on Google’s traditional search traffic.
2. Google Backstops $3.25B Hut 8 Bond
Google provided a financial backstop on a $3.25 billion, fully amortizing bond issued by Hut 8 DC LLC to fund its 245-megawatt River Bend AI data center in Louisiana. The bond, structured with a 16.5-year maturity, is secured by a 15-year, $7 billion triple-net lease with Fluidstack, including a 3% annual rent escalator and renewal options that could raise total contract value to about $17.7 billion.
