Apollo, Blackstone to fund $36B AI chip deal for Anthropic

In a landmark transaction for the artificial intelligence sector, private credit giants Apollo Global Management and Blackstone are finalizing a roughly $36 billion debt deal to finance a massive purchase of specialized AI chips for Anthropic. The deal, which could close as early as next week, is poised to become one of the largest private credit transactions in history.

The financing will be used to acquire custom tensor processing units (TPUs) from Google. These chips will then be leased to Anthropic to power its Claude AI models in data centers across New York, Texas, Louisiana, and Indiana. The structure is notable for keeping the substantial debt off of Anthropic’s balance sheet, routing it instead through a special-purpose vehicle that owns the hardware.

A key element of the deal involves semiconductor firm Broadcom, which co-designs Google’s TPUs. According to reports, Broadcom is providing a payment guarantee, or backstop, on approximately $31 billion of the senior debt. This arrangement means Broadcom would cover any shortfall if Anthropic were to default on its lease payments and the resale value of the chips proved insufficient to repay the lenders.