Key points
- Broadcom wants to arrange more than $50 billion for OpenAI's chips
- Apollo and Blackstone are among the lenders it has approached
- Broadcom is also arranging financing for Anthropic
Broadcom (AVGO) is seeking more than $50 billion in financing for the custom AI chips it's building for OpenAI, The Wall Street Journal reported on October 7. Apollo Global Management (APO) and Blackstone (BX) are among the lenders Broadcom has approached.
The proposed OpenAI financing could cover several gigawatts of computing capacity, with a deal expected before year-end. Talks remain preliminary, and the amount could change.
Apollo and Blackstone already work with Broadcom. The three companies set up the AI XPV Platform in June. Broadcom said it is designed to enable more than 20 gigawatts of computing built on its custom chips for frontier AI labs, including Anthropic and OpenAI, through 2028. It launched with a $35 billion deal led by Apollo for Anthropic.
Broadcom has also been arranging $60 billion in debt to help Anthropic and other companies pay for AI chips. Anthropic's IPO prospectus shows Broadcom agreeing to lend it up to $42 billion for computing built on Broadcom-designed chips. Reports haven't said whether that loan overlaps with the $60 billion package.
The chips come from a 10-gigawatt deal signed last year
OpenAI and Broadcom announced a collaboration on October 13, 2025, for 10 gigawatts of custom AI accelerators. OpenAI designs the chips and systems, which are developed and deployed in partnership with Broadcom in racks built with its Ethernet and other networking gear. Deployments were targeted to start in the second half of 2026 and finish by the end of 2029.
The financing push comes as OpenAI tries to own more of its computing to lower costs and rely less on cloud providers. OpenAI is also in talks to raise $30 billion in new equity at a valuation of about $1.4 trillion.
Oracle and SpaceX are lining up chip debt too
Oracle (ORCL) is negotiating with Apollo and Goldman Sachs (GS) on financing to buy chips for a 1-gigawatt data center, according to the same report. Private investors would fund a separate entity that buys the chips and leases them to Oracle.
SpaceX (SPCX) has been talking to lenders about $40 billion in debt to buy Nvidia (NVDA) chips.
Broadcom shares were at $370.33 shortly after the open at 9:31 a.m. ET on October 8, down 1.6% from the previous close.
