New AI financing backstops allows compute buyers more control over business models

Nvidia and Broadcom have recently introduced AI infrastructure financing backstops, granting major AI compute buyers greater control over their business models, according to Barclays analysts. Nvidia unveiled a massive $500 billion in third-party capital for AI infrastructure, partnering with prominent financial firms such as Apollo, BlackRock, Blackstone, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs, and KKR.

Broadcom established a $35 billion compute financing platform in June, also collaborating with Apollo and Blackstone. Analysts Ross Sandler and Tom O’Malley noted that AI capital expenditures have largely been borne by hyperscalers, totaling $1.5 trillion since 2023. They foresee these new financing structures allowing the largest AI compute buyers to construct infrastructure outside hyperscaler facilities, in small increments, and leverage the backstops provided by Nvidia and Broadcom.

Barclays estimates that the new "backstopped" capex could comprise over 20% of industry capex next year and potentially up to half by 2028. This new approach separates datacenters, long-term assets, from compute, which is more expensive and rapidly depreciates, into distinct financing vehicles. Datacenters have been traditionally financed for decades with a standardized approach, while compute assets face higher obsolescence risks and are the most substantial component of AI datacenter capex.