Nvidia and a group of blue-chip Wall Street firms are collaborating to provide a half-trillion-dollar bankroll to the AI chipmaker's customers.

💰 Why it matters: The gargantuan financing package illustrates the mushrooming scope and costs of the infrastructure needed to keep the AI economy humming.

The big picture: Nvidia confirmed this afternoon that it is partnering with Apollo, BlackRock, Blackstone, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs and KKR to assemble more than $500 billion in financing at "attractive rates" for "the build-out of AI infrastructure over time."

• The move comes after recent reports that Nvidia was in talks to guarantee financing for a quarter-trillion-dollar AI data center for OpenAI, one of its key customers. It was not immediately clear if the OpenAI backstop was part of this deal.

🔄 Friction point: The move could reignite fears about the circular nature of AI financing — in which a supplier like Nvidia provides financing or investment capital to some of its major customers.

• The fear is that if one major company runs into trouble, it could have a ripple effect through the AI ecosystem.

🗣️ What they're saying: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang — who has dismissed concerns about a circular AI bubble — said in a statement that the financing deal is necessary to "help customers access scarce compute at scale."

• Apollo president Jim Zelter said the firm would leverage its "flexible, long-term capital base."
• BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said companies need the compute capacity "to grow and create more jobs."

Taylor Farms, a major produce supplier and producer of finished food products in North America, is engulfed in a food safety crisis that's ensnaring some of the biggest consumer brands in the U.S.

↩️ Catch up quick: Taylor Farms is recalling food products containing jalapeños as the FDA said today that it's tracked 345 cases of salmonella — including 36 hospitalizations — stemming from an outbreak linked to jalapeños distributed by Coast Citrus Distributors.

• Taylor Farms said that as of Sunday it was not aware of any reported illnesses linked to its products and that it was no longer sourcing from Coast Citrus Distributors and was seeking alternative suppliers.
• 🥬 But the salmonella outbreak overlaps with a separate crisis involving more than 6,300 cases of cyclospora contamination linked to Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce provided to the likes of Taco Bell.

What we're watching: Experts say Taylor Farms — which was also linked to a 2024 E.coli outbreak involving slivered onions it provided to McDonald's — could start facing pressure from its client base.

Go deeper

🚁 Boeing is selling three businesses, including its Wisk Aero flying-taxi business, to Archer Aviation and taking a minority stake in the company. Archer shares jumped 12%. (Axios)

🤖 Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg released a full-throated defense of AI on Monday morning: a 6,500-word manifesto arguing that the most common concerns are overblown. (Axios)

The new "Madden NFL 27" video game has refreshed its entire franchise mode to focus on breaking news, headlines and media narratives to help players make decisions, Axios' Herb Scribner writes.

• Why it matters: Madden's refresh reflects sports media's reality: News remains a vital driver of entertainment and information for fans, teams and athletes alike.

Between the lines: "Madden 27," which rolled out last Thursday to early access subscribers, features a new franchise mode based around an AI "persona engine," which creates headlines and article cards that represent decisions gamers need to make.

• Gamers will have to click on articles about fictitious rookies in upcoming drafts.
• Offseasons will feature a "free agent frenzy" mini-game, where breaking news alerts from ESPN pop up.

💭 Nathan's thought bubble: I guess my utterly basic childhood strategy of running out the clock with incessant 3-yard runs is outdated.