Anthropic Offers Blackstone Over 10% on USD 60B AI Chip Deal

This proposed financing package for Anthropic's AI chip acquisition highlights the escalating costs and investor demands in the rapidly expanding AI infrastructure sector. The offer of a 10% coupon, with total yields above 10% for Blackstone, significantly surpasses the approximately 7% yields typically seen for borrowers with similar credit ratings in public bond markets. This premium reflects lenders' increased compensation expectations for infrastructure debt in the AI space.

The structure of Project North Star, which includes USD 18 billion in junior financing and USD 42 billion in senior debt guaranteed by Broadcom, suggests a complex arrangement to secure substantial computing power. Anthropic's earlier Project Big Sky, which raised USD 4.4 billion at an 8.5% interest rate four months prior, indicates a trend of rising borrowing costs, underscoring the financial pressures on AI developers as they scale their operations.

Anthropic's goal of achieving an investment-grade rating to reduce future borrowing expenses faces challenges, with its current KBRA rating one notch below investment grade. The higher yields offered in Project North Star, compared to its previous financing, illustrate how market concerns about AI infrastructure investment directly influence the terms available to companies like Anthropic, despite their need for vast computational resources.

Separately, Anthropic is facing calls from New York City Comptroller Mark Levine to delay its initial public offering (IPO) until AI safety and governance concerns are fully addressed. This pressure from a significant institutional investor, overseeing over USD 325 billion in public pension funds, adds another layer of scrutiny for Anthropic, linking its financial strategies to broader ethical and governance considerations.