Broadcom CEO Hock Tan Seals $63 Billion AI Financing Deal for Anthropic After Banks Nearly Walked Away

Broadcom CEO Intervenes to Save Massive AI Financing Deal

Broadcom CEO Hock Tan held emergency weekend negotiations with Wall Street banks to rescue a $63 billion financing deal for Anthropic after several lenders considered withdrawing from the transaction2

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. The banks had grown increasingly anxious about committing billions to AI financing amid rising interest rates and mounting concerns about the industry's enormous spending commitments. Tan agreed to higher interest rates and stronger financial protections to get the deal across the finish line, ultimately securing commitments from Bank of America, Citi, Morgan Stanley and Blackstone2

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. The announcement came on the same day Anthropic publicly filed for its IPO, with the Wall Street Journal reporting the company targets a valuation between $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion3

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How the $63 Billion AI Financing Structure Works

The $63 billion deal revolves around a newly created special purpose vehicle that will purchase Broadcom's XPU AI accelerators and networking products, then lease the hardware to Anthropic1

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. Bank of America, Citi and Morgan Stanley are structuring approximately $43.5 billion in senior debt with first lien priority, representing roughly 69% of the total financing4

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. Blackstone serves as the sole provider of committed second lien financing, which carries higher risk but will be repaid after senior debt holders in case of difficulties4

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. Chip deliveries are expected to start in calendar 2027 as part of the strategic compute capacity agreement Broadcom announced with Anthropic1

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Broadcom Takes on Billions in Financial Risk

Broadcom isn't just selling AI chips and networking equipment in this transaction. The chipmaker is providing residual value support for an amount matching the first lien tranche, potentially exposing it to losses if Anthropic defaults and the equipment's value falls short2

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. This protection mechanism, tied to approximately $43.5 billion in senior financing, represents a potentially considerable financial commitment for the supplier5

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. The arrangement reflects a shift in how semiconductor manufacturers operate in the AI computing capacity market. They're no longer simply benefiting from demand for their products but are agreeing to shoulder part of the risks associated with financing them5

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Signs of Strain in AI Infrastructure Financing

The difficult negotiations reveal growing concerns about AI financing among Wall Street banks. Morgan Stanley has reportedly struggled to sell approximately $300 million in bonds tied to a Lambda data center project, despite roughly doubling the yield offered to investors2

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. The cost of insuring CoreWeave debt against default hit a 12-month high last week, reflecting mounting investor concerns about AI infrastructure company finances2

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. On Polymarket, traders assign a 12% probability to CoreWeave announcing bankruptcy by December 2027, rising to 27% by the end of 20292

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. Just two weeks before the deal closed, Hock Tan warned at an October 12 conference that capital might become the biggest constraint to the AI boom2

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Anthropic's IPO Filing and Financial Reality

Anthropic's IPO filing disclosed staggering figures that illustrate both the promise and costs of AI development. The Claude chatbot creator generated $16.3 billion in revenue during the first half of 2026, compared with $1.2 billion a year earlier5

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. However, the company reported a net loss of $80.7 billion for the period, largely related to accounting adjustments on convertible financial instruments rather than equivalent cash outflow4

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. Its operating loss came to $693 million5

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. The company plans to list Class A shares on the Nasdaq under the ticker ANT, with the Wall Street Journal reporting it targets a debut the week of November 163

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Broader Wave of AI Chip Financing Deals

This transaction represents one piece of a larger financing wave sweeping through the AI infrastructure market. Earlier this year, Apollo Global Management and Blackstone announced a $35 billion deal to finance Broadcom AI chips for Anthropic, with Broadcom helping protect lenders against losses3

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. Broadcom is also reportedly seeking more than $50 billion to finance custom chips for OpenAI, according to the Wall Street Journal3

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. Space Exploration Technologies disclosed a roughly $40 billion chip-financing commitment with Apollo in a Monday filing3

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. In August, Nvidia unveiled a tie-up with six major financial firms, Blackstone among them, aimed at channeling over $500 billion toward AI, part of which would help customers pay for its chips1

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. Despite the challenging negotiations, Hock Tan maintained an optimistic outlook, stating the deal validates that capital is available to finance AI growth and that Broadcom is uniquely positioned to enable it1

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. Broadcom shares ended Monday's session up 2.33% at $329.17, then gained another 1.18% to reach $333.06 in after-hours trading1

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