Citigroup Forms Specialized AI Infrastructure Banking Team to Tap $3 Trillion Opportunity

Citigroup Assembles Banking Team Focused on AI Infrastructure

Citigroup Inc. has formed a group focused on the artificial intelligence infrastructure boom comprised of leaders from its investment banking and corporate banking teams. The AI Infrastructure Banking team will include investment bankers Ric Spencer, vice chair of technology, and Ashish Agrawal, the co-head of real estate, according to a memo reviewed by Bloomberg News. Alex Watkins, who runs technology financing, head of technology corporate banking Doug Baird and digital infrastructure M&A banker Ben Mortimer will also be part of the effort, according to the memo. A Citigroup spokeswoman confirmed the contents of the memo. Spencer, Agrawal, Watkins, Baird and Mortimer will retain their existing titles. But because AI infrastructure touches so many teams -- from technology to communications, energy, real estate, crypto and financing -- they'll work to "break silos and evaluate all pockets of capital available" for AI infrastructure projects, according to the memo to staff from the leaders of Citigroup's investment banking, financing and corporate banking groups. The goal is to help Citigroup win more business advising and lending to the cross-section of investors and companies that are leading the capital-intensive AI build-out. Citi estimates that $3 trillion of capital will be needed by 2030 to fund the build out of data centers, computing and other AI infrastructure as use of AI technology grows. "During this build out period, debt financing will need a combination of bank debt, private credit, infrastructure and real estate financing and structured IG debt," they wrote.

Citigroup Aims to Help Bankroll $3 Trillion AI Infrastructure Buildout | PYMNTS.com

By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions. The bank estimates that this build-out will require $3 trillion of capital by 2030, according to the report. While Citigroup's AI Infrastructure Banking team is made up of leaders from its investment banking and corporate banking teams, who will keep their existing titles, the team will work with other teams across the organization to supply capital for AI infrastructure projects, per the report. It was reported in September 2025 that Citigroup expected AI infrastructure spending by Big Tech to surpass $2.8 trillion through 2029, a figure that was up from the bank's earlier projection of $2.3 billion. Citigroup pointed to early investments by hyperscalers and rising demand for enterprise AI use. Big Tech companies no longer rely solely on profits to fund AI infrastructure. The costs are steep, so companies are borrowing to stay on top of demand. Amazon announced Monday (Feb. 23) that it will invest $12 billion in data center campuses in Louisiana that will support its AI and cloud computing technologies. The company also said in January that it plans to invest at least $11 billion in Georgia to expand this sort of infrastructure, and it said in June 2025 that it was investing at least $20 billion in Pennsylvania to expand its data center infrastructure. It was reported Friday (Feb. 20) that OpenAI told investors that its compute costs could approach $600 billionby the decade's end. The company had earlier said that it had made $1.4 trillion in infrastructure commitments. It offered up a lower figure and a more defined timeline for its planned expenditures amid concerns that its expansion plans outweighed its potential revenue, according to the report. Alphabet said Feb. 4 that it plans to invest between $175 billion and $185 billion in capital expenditures during 2026 in response to sustained demand for AI compute across consumer products, enterprise platforms and cloud infrastructure. Meta said in January that it expects capital expenditures in 2026 to land between $115 billion and $135 billion, nearly double the $72 billion it spent last year, and that a big chunk of that money will go toward new data centers and other computing infrastructure that powers AI.