Broadcom Seeks $50B+ for OpenAI Chips; SpaceX Negotiates $40B Nvidia Financing

According to reports by The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg today, Broadcom has been arranging financing exceeding $50 billion (IT Home note: approximately 335.597 billion RMB at current exchange rates) for OpenAI’s custom AI chips in recent weeks, initiating early discussions with private credit firms such as Apollo Global Management and Blackstone. Sources indicate that negotiations are still in the initial stages, and the scale of financing may change.

Broadcom and OpenAI previously announced a partnership to develop 10 gigawatts of custom AI chip systems, with deployment planned from the second half of 2026 through the end of 2029. Internally, OpenAI refers to this chip project as "Nexus," with the first- and second-generation chips codenamed Jalapeño and Serrano, respectively. According to sources, this financing could cover several gigawatts of OpenAI’s chip capacity, expected to be finalized by the end of this year. Representatives from both Broadcom and OpenAI declined to comment.

Bloomberg’s report added that Broadcom has held preliminary discussions regarding financing arrangements for the OpenAI chip project. Early consultations suggest the parties may seek to raise approximately $30 billion (approximately 201.358 billion RMB at current exchange rates) in debt, though no formal process has been initiated yet, and plans remain subject to change. This new financing follows a large-scale debt financing arrangement previously secured by Broadcom for Anthropic.

According to Bloomberg, Broadcom is raising $60 billion (approximately 402.716 billion RMB at current exchange rates) in new AI chip financing for Anthropic and other companies. Banks involved in the deal have begun distributing syndication notices for$42 billion (approximately 281.901 billion RMB) in Class A senior secured loans. Blackstone is leading the $18 billion (approximately 120.815 billion RMB) Class B subordinated debt tranche and has committed$9 billion (approximately 60.407 billion RMB) from multiple funds under its management.

Meanwhile, Oracle is negotiating with Apollo and Goldman Sachs on a dedicated financing arrangement to procure chips for a 1-gigawatt data center. Sources say Oracle hopes to close this deal as early as this year and is currently discussing terms with multiple potential financing partners. The financing structure may involve private investors establishing an off-balance-sheet entity to purchase the chips and then lease them to Oracle. This arrangement aims to help Oracle bridge the funding gap between hardware procurement payments and revenue generated by its cloud computing business, while avoiding additional debt on its own balance sheet to control borrowing costs amid competition with better-capitalized tech giants. It remains unclear how many chips Oracle plans to finance, but the cost of purchasing Nvidia chips for a 1-gigawatt data center could reach tens of billions of dollars.

SpaceX’s financing moves were first reported by the Financial Times. Sources indicate that SpaceX is negotiating with lenders led by Apollo for approximately $40 billion (approximately 268.477 billion RMB at current exchange rates) in financing to purchase Nvidia chips. Of this amount, roughly$10 billion (approximately 67.119 billion RMB) would come from bank loans, and $30 billion (approximately 201.358 billion RMB) from investment-grade bonds. Bond fund Pimco has participated in discussions among the lenders. The transaction is expected to close in 2027 rather than this year. Apollo and Pimco declined to comment, while SpaceX and Nvidia did not immediately respond to media inquiries.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk previously stated during the company’s August earnings call that the firm decided to build entirely on Nvidia technology, considering its Vera Rubin architecture to be the optimal choice.