Blackstone and Wall Street Banks Announce US$63bn AI Deal

Blackstone, in partnership with Wall Street banks such as Bank of America, Citi and Morgan Stanley, will provide US$63bn in financing to buy Broadcom’s AI chips and networking gear for Anthropic, orchestrating one of the largest debt deals connected to the AI buildout.

The transaction is part of the strategic compute capacity agreement previously announced by Broadcom, with expected deliveries starting at the beginning of 2027.

Broadcom is offering residual value support to lenders, who are providing first-lien loans or senior debt, offering a significant guarantee within the financing structure.

The deal highlights the further push by major players within the financial services industry to deploy AI infrastructure across the economy and to ​support rising demand for AI computing capacity.

Banks and Blackstone detail the financing structure

Last week, Anthropic filed for a potentially record-breaking IPO, despite disclosures of steep losses and security concerns prompting anxiety among AI investors.

The size of the first-lien loans or senior debt is about US$43.5bn, according to those familiar with the matter.

Blackstone will provide the committed portion while Bank of America, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley are arranging the first-lien financing.

Discussing the deal, Jon Gray, President and COO of Blackstone, says: “The rapidly growing demand for AI is creating an enormous opportunity to finance compute capacity at scale.”

He adds that Blackstone is proud to support the buildout efforts with Anthropic and Broadcom.

AI chipmakers have provided guarantees in the past to absorb potential declines in the value of ​the assets, such as advanced chips and data infrastructure.

Commenting on the practicality of financing AI deployment, Jim DeMare, Co-President of Bank of America, says: “Advancing AI responsibly requires turning ambitious technology plans into tangible compute infrastructure.”

He adds that Bank of America’s infrastructure financing expertise, advisory capabilities and broad capital solutions platform allow it to deliver innovative structures and mobilise institutional capital at scale. 

“This transaction brings together Broadcom’s leading technology and significant bank capital to accelerate the buildout of compute capacity that will power the next wave of AI innovation,” Jim says.

How the deal builds on Anthropic's previous compute agreement

Increasing demand for AI is driving investment in computing infrastructure as tech companies race to secure capacity for increasingly complex workloads.

The transaction will be carried out through a newly formed special purpose vehicle that will purchase Broadcom's AI accelerators and networking equipment and lease ​them to Anthropic.

Apollo and Blackstone had ​agreed to finance ⁠a US$35bn expansion of Anthropic's AI computing capacity under a previous agreement with Broadcom. 

Broadcom's backstop in the deal with Apollo and Blackstone was up to US$29bn, it announced in a company filing.

Discussing the deal and the systems necessary to ensure growth with AI, Hock Tan, President and CEO of Broadcom, says: “Today’s transaction underscores the power of our advanced technology and our strong conviction in the AI ecosystem. 

“Fundamentally, the need for AI compute continues to grow at an extraordinary pace. This validates that there is capital available to finance such growth and that Broadcom is uniquely positioned to enable it.”

Blackstone’s key partners:

Thomson Reuters: Blackstone partnered with Thomson Reuters to create Refinitiv, later orchestrating its major sale to the London Stock Exchange Group.
CEO: Steve Hasker | Headquarters: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Microsoft: Blackstone collaborates with Microsoft to develop massive hyperscale artificial intelligence data centers powered by dedicated digital infrastructure investment portfolios.
CEO: Satya Nadella | Headquarters: Redmond, Washington, United States

BNP Paribas: Blackstone collaborates with BNP Paribas to distribute private credit strategies and structured debt investment solutions to European wealth clients.CEO: Jean-Laurent Bonnafé | Headquarters: Paris, Île-de-France, France