Anthropic offers Blackstone 10% yield on chip debt, FT says

Anthropic is offering Blackstone ↘ 2.37% a yield of more than 10% to help pay for its latest chip deal, the Financial Times reported on Friday, October 16, 2026. That rate shows how much the AI company is willing to pay to fund its computing buildout. According to people familiar with the matter, Blackstone funds would put $9 billion into debt backed by Anthropic's five-year lease payments on the chips, Reuters Thomson Reuters Corporation ↗ 1.04% said, adding that it could not immediately verify the report.reuters.com+1

The investment is part of a $60 billion debt package called "Project North Star." It would help fund Anthropic's purchase of custom tensor processing units (TPUs) developed by Google Alphabet Inc. ↘ 2.32%. The FT said the deal is expected to be the largest chip financing so far and a key test of investor appetite for AI debt.

Pricing Above the Market

Blackstone's $9 billion would make up about half of an $18 billion junior loan tranche. The firm was offered a 10% coupon, and its total return would be higher once new-issue discounts and fees are counted, the FT reported. By comparison, a borrower with a similar credit profile usually pays about 7% in the public bond market, based on the ICE BofA BB US High Yield Index. The remaining $9 billion of junior debt would be sold to other investors in the coming months, possibly at a lower yield.ft.com

The FT also reported that Blackstone told its investment partners the deal was a rare chance to earn a high yield on Anthropic-linked debt. Blackstone expects Anthropic to win an investment-grade rating and borrow much more cheaply once it goes public. Blackstone declined to comment, and Anthropic did not immediately respond, according to the FT. About four months earlier, Anthropic paid an 8.5% rate on roughly $4.4 billion of debt in a similar deal called "Project Big Sky," Sina Finance reported, citing the FT.finance.sina.cn+1

Broadcom's Backstop

The package also includes about $42 billion of senior debt guaranteed by Broadcom ↘ 4.52%, which helps develop the chips with Google. That debt could become tradeable in the institutional 144A bond market once the money has been drawn down in 2027, the FT said. Bank of America ↘ 0.91%, Citigroup ↗ 0.85% and Morgan Stanley ↘ 0.84% began syndicating that senior portion this week. The loans are split into two $21 billion tranches that mature in 2033, IFR reported.ifre.com+1

In the structure, a special purpose vehicle buys the chips and leases them to Anthropic. Broadcom's guarantee takes effect if Anthropic runs into trouble, a setup IFR said would draw criticism as circular financing.ifre.com

Anthropic's IPO prospectus says Broadcom has agreed to lend it up to $42 billion through notes convertible into Anthropic shares. The filing also warns that Broadcom's dual role as supplier and lender creates "potential conflicts of interest," according to Yahoo Finance, citing CNBC. Bloomberg reported that the financing is being watched across Wall Street for reassurance that investors still want to back the AI buildout.finance.yahoo.com+1