Broadcom is reportedly seeking more than $50 billion in financing for custom AI chips it is developing with OpenAI.
Apollo and Blackstone are among the potential lenders, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter, though discussions remain at an early stage and the financing amount could change.
The Broadcom financing could include several gigawatts of OpenAI chip capacity, one of the people said, with the deal potentially closing before the end of the year as the frontier AI lab seeks to shore up its own dedicated infrastructure.
The potential deal comes a year after Broadcom and OpenAI announced a partnership to develop and deploy 10 gigawatts of OpenAI-designed AI accelerators, with plans to deploy the systems through 2029.
Oracle also in talks for chip financing
Broadcom's prospective financing discussions come amid rising spending on AI chips and data centers across the industry.
The WSJ also reported Wednesday that Oracle is in talks with Apollo and Goldman Sachs to finance a substantial purchase of chips. Companies like Oracle have previously funded their own buildouts, but with the corporate debt market nearing its limits, they are turning to Wall Street investment firms for further financing. Oracle is also attempting to get its deal done this year, one of the people familiar with the matter said, amid discussions with multiple potential financing partners.
SpaceX is another firm reportedly seeking to raise $40 billion in financing to purchase Nvidia chips for its AI initiatives. The AI and rocket firm is looking to raise around $10 billion in bank loans and $30 billion in investment-grade debt, The Financial Times reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.