Big Tech’s AI debt binge puts it in competition with governments for capital

Governments used to have the bond market’s biggest appetite more or less to themselves. Now they have company, and it comes with a server farm attached. Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft and Oracle are borrowing heavily to fund artificial intelligence infrastructure. That puts them in direct competition with sovereign borrowers, especially the US government, for the same pool of investor cash. The numbers behind the borrowing spree Four of the largest US tech companies plan to spend about $650 billion on AI infrastructure in 2026. Widen the lens to all hyperscalers, and capex estimates for the year exceed $800 billion to $1.1 trillion. AI-linked corporate debt issuance is reported to have reached approximately $450–500 billion in the first nine months of 2026. That is more than double the pace of previous years. Analysts at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley expect the trend to escalate, with Goldman Sachs projecting hyperscaler AI debt issuance could push toward or above $1 trillion in 2027. Tech firms have moved more than $120 billion of AI data center spending off their books through special purpose vehicles, or SPVs, and leasing arrangements. Think of an SPV as a separate company...