Bank of America, Blackstone, Citi, and Morgan Stanley will provide $63 billion in financing to buy Broadcom AI chips and networking gear for Anthropic — one of the largest debt deals yet tied to the AI buildout, announced Monday, October 26, 2026. Why it matters: Anthropic is now funding its compute the way infrastructure companies do, with leased hardware and Wall Street balance sheets, on the same day it filed for an IPO.
October 27, 2026
How the deal is structured
The money does not go straight onto Anthropic’s books. A newly formed special purpose vehicle will use the financing to purchase Broadcom’s AI accelerators and networking equipment, then lease that hardware to Anthropic, the maker of Claude. Shipments are expected to start in calendar year 2027, under a previously announced compute capacity agreement.
The financing is layered. Bank of America, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley are arranging the first-lien, or senior, portion — about $43.5 billion, roughly 69% of the total, according to two sources familiar with the matter cited by Reuters. Blackstone is providing the committed second-lien portion, which ranks below senior debt if assets are liquidated. Broadcom itself is providing residual value support to the senior lenders — effectively a guarantee that absorbs part of the risk if the chips lose value faster than expected.
The context: an IPO and very large leases
The announcement landed the same day Anthropic publicly filed its IPO prospectus. MarketWatch, reviewing that filing, reported that Anthropic disclosed five-year master equipment leases with the chip maker worth about $161.2 billion, not including interest. Broadcom called the partnership its largest strategic compute capacity agreement to date, according to a William Blair analyst note cited by MarketWatch.
Why it matters
This is the AI buildout’s financing model in plain sight: the lab does not buy the chips outright, a vehicle funded by banks and private credit does, and the chipmaker backstops the senior lenders against the hardware losing value. That structure keeps assets off Anthropic’s balance sheet, but it does not make the obligation disappear — the leases are real, long, and enormous relative to even Anthropic’s fast-growing revenue. For readers, the takeaway is simple: the race is no longer just about who has the best model. It is about who can assemble tens of billions in structured financing, year after year, to keep the compute coming. Everything AI, tested — including, increasingly, its balance sheet.
Frequently asked questions
Who is lending the $63 billion?
Bank of America, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley are arranging about $43.5 billion in first-lien senior financing, and Blackstone is providing the committed second-lien portion, per Reuters.
Does Anthropic own the chips?
No. A special purpose vehicle buys the Broadcom accelerators and networking equipment and leases them to Anthropic. Shipments are expected to start in calendar 2027.
What is residual value support?
Broadcom is guaranteeing part of the hardware’s future value for the senior lenders, so if the chips depreciate faster than expected, Broadcom absorbs a share of that loss.
Sources: Reuters, MarketWatch