Tech companies tap debt, equity to fund AI and cloud expansion

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 signaled in April that spending on AI would not slow down. Tech giants' combined spending is now set to exceed $700 billion this year, up from about $600 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 Bridgewater Associates in February.

AMAZON

Amazon.com is looking to raise at least $25 billion from the U.S. bond market, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The tech giant filed for an eight-part offering of floating and fixed-rate notes, according to a regulatory filing. Amazon is issuing senior unsecured bonds, with maturities ranging from three to 40 years, as per a term sheet seen by Reuters.

In June, the company disclosed in a regulatory filing that it has issued C$14 billion of Canadian dollar-denominated notes, marking a record size for the Canadian corporate bond market.

It is also preparing to issue a six-part bond offering in Swiss franc denomination for the first time, a person familiar with the matter had told Reuters in May.

Separately, the e-commerce giant is looking to raise about $37 billion in an 11-part bond sale, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters in March.

NVIDIA

Nvidia NASDAQ:NVDA said in June it would raise $25 billion through a U.S. bond issuance, as it taps the debt market to increase liquidity for the first time since 2021.

The bond consists of seven tranches of notes, maturing as late as 2056, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters.

SALESFORCE

Cloud software provider Salesforce NYSE:CRM said in March it has priced a $25 billion debt offering to help fund a major share buyback. The company announced a $50 billion repurchase program and lifted its dividend by 5.8% in February.

The company had last issued U.S. bonds in 2021, securing $8 billion to support its acquisition of communication platform Slack.

ORACLE

Oracle NYSE:ORCL said in February it expects to raise $45 billion to $50 billion in 2026 in a combination of debt and stock to build additional capacity for its cloud infrastructure.

The cloud company was sued in January by bondholders who said they suffered losses because the company failed to disclose it needed to sell significant additional debt to build out its AI infrastructure.

In September 2025, the company, chaired by Larry Ellison, filed to raise about $18 billion in debt in a six-part offering to fund AI infrastructure, after investing billions in 2025.

ALPHABET

Google-parent Alphabet NASDAQ:GOOG said in June it was looking to raise $80 billion in equity offerings, including an investment from Berkshire Hathaway NYSE:BRK.A.

The company increased the size of its equity offerings to $84.75 billion after seeing strong investor demand.

The deal brings in Warren Buffett's diversified holding company as a major new investor, adding a high-profile endorsement of Alphabet's long-term AI and cloud strategy.

Alphabet also plans to sell Japanese yen-denominated bonds for the first time, it disclosed in a filing in May.

The issuance is expected to total several hundred billion yen, a source with direct knowledge of the deal said.

The tech giant sold a rare, 100-year bond worth 1 billion pounds ($1.36 billion) in February, as part of a global $31.51 billion debt raise. The company sold 5.5 billion pounds worth of sterling bonds in a five-part deal, according to the final term sheet seen by Reuters.

It had in November last year filed to raise $17.50 billion in debt in the U.S. and 6.5 billion euros ($7.57 billion) in Europe, for general corporate purposes, including the payment of outstanding debt.

VERIZON

The U.S. carrier NYSE:VZ had in November last year filed to raise about $11 billion in the corporate bond market to help fund its $20 billion acquisition of fiber-optic internet provider Frontier Communications, which it closed in January.

META PLATFORMS

The Facebook owner NASDAQ:META had in October last year filed for its largest bond offering ever, of up to $30 billion, to finance a costly AI infrastructure expansion.

Meta has been navigating significant cost pressures from AI investments, boosting its capital spending plans by 73% this year to offer personalized AI to its large social media user base.

SOURCE: Data compiled by LSEG; SEC filings

($1 = 0.7341 pounds)

($1 = 0.8584 euros)

($1 = 1.3949 Canadian dollars)