OpenAI's Partners Rake Up $96 Billion Debt as AI Industry's Borrowing Trend Escalates

Core Insights - The AI industry is increasingly relying on debt, with companies supplying data centers, chips, and processing power to OpenAI accumulating $96 billion in debt to fund operations [1][2] - OpenAI has committed $1.4 trillion for future energy and computing needs but anticipates only $20 billion in revenue this year, indicating a significant funding gap [2] - A study by HSBC suggests that even if OpenAI's revenues exceed $200 billion by 2030, an additional $207 billion in funding will be necessary for sustainability [2] Industry Trends - The trend towards debt financing in the AI sector marks a shift from previous practices where large tech firms financed AI build-outs with cash from their balance sheets [3] - The five major hyperscalers—Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Oracle—have collectively taken on $121 billion in new debt this year to support AI operations, which is over four times their average debt level from the past five years [3][4] - OpenAI's partners, including SoftBank, Oracle, and CoreWeave, have already borrowed $30 billion, with additional loans under negotiation totaling $38 billion [2]