Broadcom CEO rescued $63bn debt deal to lease chips to Anthropic (opens the source in a new tab)
- A shell company will borrow $63bn to buy TPU chips Broadcom co-designs with Google and lease them to Anthropic, whose payments repay the loans. WSJ calls it the biggest AI infrastructure financing yet.
- As rates rose, some lenders wanted out. Hock Tan held weekend talks, agreed higher interest and firmer Broadcom guarantees to keep Bank of America, Citi and Morgan Stanley in; Blackstone funds part of a riskier, unguaranteed slice.
- Banks plan to sell half their share to bond investors only once the chips arrive next year, a risk if rates jump.
- $63bn
- debt raised for chip leases
Why it matters Broadcom is supplier, guarantor and dealmaker at once. Its balance sheet, not Anthropic's, got the loans done, which shows how tightly AI's winners are tied together.
Other side If Anthropic keeps paying, the guarantee never bites and lenders earn more for the trouble. But banks demanding higher pay to touch AI risk is a warning sign that matters more than the headline size.