Tech companies tap debt markets to fund AI and cloud expansion

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The world's largest technology companies are tapping debt markets, as they seek to bolster their artificial intelligence infrastructure, marking a shift for Silicon Valley firms that typically relied on cash to fund their investments.

Big Tech is expected to splurge more than $600 billion on AI in 2026, a sharp increase from $410 billion in 2025 amid mounting fears of an AI bubble.

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 last month.

AMAZON

Amazon.com <AMZN.O> is looking to raise about $37 billion in an 11-part bond sale, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters on Tuesday, as it looks to fund its spending on AI infrastructure buildout.

The offering attracted about $126 billion of peak demand for bonds in the U.S., according to a source familiar with the matter.

In November last year, Amazon <AMZN.O> said it plans to raise $15 billion through its first U.S. dollar bond sale in three years. The six-part offering drew $80 billion in demand, according to Bloomberg News.

Particulars	Value
Debt outstanding	$105.03 billion
Cash and cash equivalents	$86.81 billion
Next bond payment	$2.75 billion due on May 12, 2026

SALESFORCE

Cloud software provider Salesforce <CRM.N> is preparing to raise as much as $25 billion in a debt offering to help fund a major share buyback, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Particulars	Value
Debt outstanding	$8.50 billion
Cash and cash equivalents	$7.33 billion
Next bond payment	$1.50 billion due on April 11, 2028

ORACLE

Oracle <ORCL.N> 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.

Particulars	Value
Debt outstanding	$131.25 billion
Cash and cash equivalents	$38.46 billion
Next bond payment	$2.75 billion due on March 25, 2026

ALPHABET

Google-parent Alphabet <GOOGL.O>sold a rare, 100-year bond worth 1 billion pounds ($1.35 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.

The company had in November last year filed to raise $17.50 billion in debt in the U.S. and 6.5 billion euros ($7.58 billion) in Europe, for general corporate purposes, including the payment of outstanding debt.

Particulars	Value
Debt outstanding	$80.21 billion
Cash balance	$30.71 billion
Next bond payment	$2 billion due on August 15, 2026

VERIZON

The U.S. carrier <VZ.N> had in November 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.

Particulars	Value
Debt outstanding	$149.02 billion
Cash and cash equivalents	$19.05 billion
Next bond payment	$205.66 million due on March 20, 2026

META PLATFORMS

The Facebook owner <META.O> 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.