Google and Big Tech are on a borrowing spree to fund AI ambitions
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Alphabet is on a borrowing spree — Google's parent company raised $20 billion in a bond sale Monday.
Why it matters: Tech giants are spending enormous amounts on AI, and, despite their relatively deep coffers, they need help paying for it.
State of play: Meta kicked off its bond binge in October, issuing nearly $30 billion worth.
- The next month, Amazon announced its first bond offering in three years.
Zoom out: In the last three months of 2025, the hyperscalers — the data center behemoths in the vanguard of the AI revolution — issued some $60 billion in bonds, per PitchBook.
- Buckle up. The expectation is there could be a half-trillion dollars more issued this year, says John Atkins, a managing editor for U.S. bonds at the financial data and research firm.
Zoom in: Investors are digging it so far.
- Those who scooped up Alphabet's bonds aren't getting that much more in yield than those buying U.S. Treasuries.
- "They paid very, very skinny spreads," Atkins says. Google's parent is "considered a safe bet."
The intrigue: As part of its debt sale, Alphabet also offered a century bond — one that won't pay off for 100 years — denominated in British pounds, per the Financial Times.
- That's extremely rare.
- IBM, Coca-Cola and Walt Disney have issued century bonds, but did so some three decades ago.
Friction point: Oracle. Its offerings aren't doing as well as those from giants like Meta or Alphabet. Investors are more concerned about the company's prospects.
What to watch: At some point, investors are going to want to see real results from all this spending. They would prefer to be stirred, not shaken.
