AI financing costs are rising: Anthropic plans to offer Blackstone a yield of over 10%.

Anthropic is pushing forward with a record-breaking $60 billion chip debt financing project codenamed "Project North Star." To raise the funds, the company offered its anchor investor, Blackstone Group, a yield exceeding 10%, and borrowing costs surged significantly in just four months. This move aims to lock in computing power reserves before the IPO, using high-interest arbitrage to bet on lower costs through a post-IPO credit rating upgrade.

Anthropic is proceeding with its largest chip funding round in history at costs far exceeding market benchmarks, reflecting the ever-increasing capital costs behind the AI infrastructure arms race.

According to a Financial Times report on the 17th, Anthropic is offering Blackstone a yield of over 10% in exchange for the latter's participation in the $60 billion debt financing codenamed "Project North Star." Sources familiar with the matter revealed that Blackstone's funds will subscribe to $9 billion of the loan, approximately half of the $18 billion subprime mortgage, and will receive a 10% coupon. After accounting for new issuance discounts and other fees, the actual total return will be even higher.

This funding round is expected to set a new record for chip financing and will serve as a key indicator of investors' appetite for AI debt. It's worth noting that just four months ago, Anthropic completed a $4.4 billion funding round codenamed "Project Big Sky" at an 8.5% interest rate. This rapid increase in borrowing costs highlights the growing wariness among investors regarding the intensive financing needs of AI companies.

A record-breaking 60 billion yuan financing deal, with costs soaring in tandem.

"Project North Star" aims to fund the procurement of approximately 1.5 gigawatts of custom semiconductors—namely, tensor processing units (TPUs)—developed by Google for Anthropic.

The overall debt structure consists of two tiers: approximately $42 billion in senior debt, guaranteed by Broadcom, which is involved in chip development; and the remaining $18 billion in subordinated loans, of which Blackstone subscribed for $9 billion. The remaining portion will be sold to a wider range of investors in the coming months, with interest rates potentially lower than those offered to Blackstone. It is expected that once the funds are fully withdrawn in 2027, this portion of the debt will enter the institutional 144A bond market.

Blackstone declined to comment, and Anthropic did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

With a premium exceeding 300 basis points, demand for risk premiums is becoming increasingly apparent.

According to the ICE Bank of America BB-rated U.S. High Yield Bond Index, borrowers with credit profiles similar to Anthropic typically pay around 7% yield in the public bond market. Anthropic's 10% coupon offer to Blackstone represents over 300 basis points above this benchmark; the actual yield difference is even greater when discounts and fees are factored in.

This premium reflects two pressures: first, investors are becoming increasingly cautious about the massive short-term financing needs of technology companies and are demanding higher risk compensation; second, large financing deals typically require additional premiums to anchor investors and early commitment parties to ensure the deal goes through smoothly.

The rapid rise in borrowing costs has further complicated Anthropic's path to an investment-grade rating. In June of this year, rating agency KBRA assigned Anthropic a rating one notch below investment grade, and this subordinated debt is expected to receive a similar rating.

Pre-IPO strategic planning: High-cost financing in exchange for long-term cost reduction opportunities

Despite high financing costs, Anthropic has chosen to proactively shoulder the pressure, with a clear strategic logic behind it. According to media reports citing sources familiar with the matter, Blackstone has indicated to its investment partners that this transaction represents a rare opportunity to invest in Anthropic's related debt at high yield levels—once Anthropic completes its IPO, it is expected to receive an investment-grade rating, at which point its financing costs will significantly decrease.

This narrative is essentially a time arbitrage: Anthropic acquired the necessary computing power reserves at a higher interest rate before its IPO, and bet that an improved credit rating after the IPO would create room for refinancing, thereby diluting its long-term capital costs. For early investors like Blackstone, it meant locking in above-market returns during a risk window.

This financing not only provides financial security for Anthropic's expansion, but also serves as a crucial stress test for the AI industry's debt financing market to continue absorbing large-scale transactions.

Source:Global Cybersecurity Alliance (GCSA)
Website:www.gcsa.org