The world’s largest technology companies are tapping debt markets and raising equity to bolster AI infrastructure, marking a shift for Silicon Valley firms that typically relied on cash to fund their investments.
Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta signalled in April that spending on AI would not slow down. Tech giants’ combined spending is now set to exceed US$730 billion this year, up from about US$700 billion previously.
The AI boom has entered a “more dangerous phase,” marked by exponentially rising investments in physical infrastructure and growing reliance on outside capital, according to an analysis by…