Anthropic y OpenAI buscan un mayor grado de rating tras su salida a Bolsa para financiarse mejor

Anthropic y OpenAI are seeking a higher credit rating after going public to finance their infrastructure projects more economically. Bankers for both companies are pressing for a investment-grade credit rating following their imminent IPOs, which would lower their borrowing costs for ambitious AI infrastructure projects. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have been in talks with credit rating agencies in recent weeks on behalf of the two leading AI labs, aiming to tap the $11.7 trillion corporate bond market after their IPOs, according to sources close to the matter.

Credit agencies' analysts stated to the Financial Times that the bankers representing Anthropic and OpenAI argued that the IPOs would release significant liquidity and improve the health of their balance sheets. Wall Street seeks to minimize the impact of their debt, arguing that the two companies will soon have ample liquidity, a senior credit analyst said.

Receiving an investment-grade rating from Fitch, Moody's, and S&P shortly after their IPO would be a notable achievement for the two AI labs, currently operating at a loss. This rating would open doors to pension funds, insurers, and other institutional investors who typically adopt much more limited debt positions. It would also set a precedent of how Wall Street adapts practices to boost the three biggest IPOs in history.

SpaceX, which went public in June, was the first major technology company to receive an immediate investment-grade rating. Elon Musk's company also benefited from changes in index rules, allowing millions of dollars of passive index funds from the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to enter its capital immediately. Other tech giants like Meta, Netflix, and Tesla waited a decade or more after their IPOs before receiving a top-tier credit rating.

Sources close to the company say conversations about ratings for OpenAI and Anthropic continue, and neither company has publicly announced plans for the IPO. Anthropic and OpenAI have recently obtained large credit lines from big banks but have relied primarily on institutional and venture capital investors to finance their hundreds of billions of dollars invested in specialized chips and data centers for training and running their models.

They have also benefited from credit ratings from their partners to secure preferential loan conditions for debt tied to their infrastructure projects. However, concerns about the increasing debt associated with AI projects have raised financing costs in recent months. An investment-grade rating would give them access to a wider range of capital and better loan conditions.

Credit agencies' analysts are waiting to see the results of their IPOs before making a decision. The companies remain unprofitable and have shown little evidence of generating positive free cash flow. They also face numerous risks, such as the popularity of open-source code models from China. Anthropic and OpenAI have taken on significant speculative borrowing risks, according to veteran credit analysts.

Their partners, including Nvidia, have provided hundreds of billions of dollars in guarantees, assuming the startups will soon be able to fund themselves. Nvidia's $105 billion credit line for a large OpenAI data center in Ohio expires when the startup obtains a satisfactory credit rating, documents show. Google and Broadcom have also provided tens of billions of dollars in credit support to back Anthropic's use of their chips.

Both companies believe they will need less assistance after going public. Anthropic's CEO, Hock Tan, said in the previous week that Anthropic's IPO would result in a change in its credit rating, signaling that, along with its rival OpenAI, they are consolidating as hyper-scalable companies on their own merits. Jordan Chalfin, director of technology at the research firm CreditSights, wrote last week that Anthropic's rapid revenue growth could justify an investment-grade rating if it raises about $100 billion in its IPO.

It is expected that Anthropic will file its IPO prospectus soon, allowing investors to analyze its finances before a potential valuation of $2 trillion or more for the five-year-old company. OpenAI is also expected to follow suit with an IPO next year. Analysts say the opacity of their finances and the use of inflated annual revenue figures by startups have masked their real performance.

SpaceX raised $25 billion in bonds days after going public and receiving an investment-grade rating.