Broadcom Holds Early Talks About Financing Deal for OpenAI Chips

(Bloomberg) -- Broadcom Inc., fresh off the launch of a $60 billion debt financing to help fund Anthropic PBC's artificial intelligence build-out, is already sketching out plans for its next blockbuster deal.

The company has held early discussions to arrange financing to help OpenAI purchase the custom artificial intelligence chip that the pair is developing together, according to people familiar with the matter.

No formal process has begun and plans could change, though early talks indicate the two could seek to raise around $30 billion of debt for the next leg, said one of the people, all of whom asked not to be identified because the information isn't public.

The move is part of a surge in recent deals to pay for AI infrastructure: Oracle Corp. is also in talks with lenders to line up money for the purchase of chips.

It's unclear how soon Broadcom's latest financing, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, will come together, the people said. Elon Musk's SpaceX has begun talks with banks and investors to raise $40 billion to buy chips from Nvidia Corp., Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, though that deal isn't expected to close until 2027.

Last week, banks involved in the massive Broadcom-backed debt package that will benefit Anthropic began sending out syndication letters for a $42 billion Class A senior-secured tranche. Blackstone Inc. is leading an $18 billion tranche of Class B junior debt, committing $9 billion from various funds, Bloomberg reported at the time.

The companies are seeking the deals in the face of soaring costs to outfit data centers. The AI building frenzy — meant to support a proliferation of software and services — has prompted tech giants to seek new forms of financing.

Representatives for Broadcom and OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT, declined to comment.

Broadcom had already said in June that it had established a platform, with Apollo Global Management Inc. and Blackstone as anchor investors, to help finance more than 20 gigawatts in computing capacity for AI developers including Anthropic and OpenAI through 2028. Fulfilling that agreement will require hundreds of billions of dollars.

Bloomberg reported in August that Broadcom held talks with a group of lenders to raise more than $60 billion in debt for an AI chip financing deal that will benefit Anthropic and other companies.