Broadcom negotiates $70–80 billion debt package for AI infrastructure
Broadcom is in talks with lenders to raise $70 billion to $80 billion in debt to finance a chip and computing infrastructure arrangement benefiting artificial intelligence companies, including Anthropic. The proposed financing is structured with a senior tranche of about $45 billion and a junior tranche of roughly $35 billion, though the figures remain fluid as discussions continue. A separate structure under discussion could take the total raise to as much as $100 billion, according to Bloomberg reporting cited in coverage of the talks.
The debt would flow through a Broadcom-backed special purpose vehicle designed to fund the buildout, extending Broadcom's role as a financier and supplier of AI infrastructure at a time when chipmakers are seeking record levels of capital. The U.S. artificial intelligence industry is tapping debt markets for unprecedented sums to finance data centers and processors needed for new model training and inference workloads.
Blackstone and Apollo among investors in talks to participate
Blackstone and Apollo Global Management are among the firms discussing participation in the financing. Blackstone declined to comment, while Broadcom and Apollo did not respond to requests for comment. The two private credit and asset managers already led a $35 billion financing commitment announced in June alongside Broadcom to expand Anthropic's computing infrastructure using Broadcom's custom chips and networking technology. That initial commitment was designed to add about one gigawatt of computing capacity, while the wider partnership aims to deliver more than 20 gigawatts of compute to leading AI laboratories by 2028.
Deal deepens Broadcom-Anthropic partnership and custom-silicon push
The financing package would deepen Broadcom's relationship with Anthropic, which is separately laying the groundwork for its own custom semiconductor business. Broadcom designs custom chips for companies including Alphabet, Meta, Anthropic and OpenAI, helping large technology firms reduce their reliance on Nvidia, the dominant supplier of AI processors. Anthropic currently sources processors from several companies, including Nvidia, Google and Amazon. Developing its own chips could give the AI company greater control over the hardware needed to train and run its models, and help it address supply constraints and tailor chip designs to specific computing requirements.
Anthropic hires Google TPU founder to build internal chip capability
Anthropic has hired Amir Salek, a founder of Google's custom chip program, to join its compute team. Salek led Google's Tensor Processing Unit business until 2022 and worked on the first seven generations of the company's chips, and at Anthropic will report to James Bradbury. The hire signals Anthropic's intent to compete with peers such as OpenAI, which has unveiled a chip called Jalapeno developed with Broadcom and plans to begin using it later this year, in building proprietary silicon.
Evidence gap on final size and structure
The size, tranche composition and ultimate participant list of the debt package have not been finalized. Reported ranges of $70 billion to $80 billion, a separate structure that could push the total to $100 billion, and the $45 billion senior and $35 billion junior split all remain subject to change as talks progress, and Broadcom, Apollo and Blackstone have not publicly confirmed the precise terms or their own roles in the financing.
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