Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) is deepening its role in the AI infrastructure buildout by pairing custom chip development with large-scale financing support for customers seeking expensive computing capacity.
Broadcom Backs Anthropic’s AI Expansion
Broadcom is helping Anthropic secure Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google-developed chips while expanding its position against NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) in AI computing.
The company agreed to provide as much as $42 billion in lending tied to Anthropic’s plans to secure large amounts of computing capacity. Broadcom is also participating in hardware and leasing arrangements.
Anthropic has committed to a five-year, $125.2 billion lease for tensor processing unit capacity. Broadcom’s convertible financing could cover roughly one-third of that amount.
The partnership also gives Anthropic access to multiple gigawatts of next-generation TPU capacity starting in 2027.
$60 Billion Debt Package Moves Into Syndication
Wall Street banks began syndicating part of a $60 billion debt package Monday to finance Anthropic’s lease of Google semiconductors.
Broadcom is partially guaranteeing the financing, which could lower Anthropic’s borrowing costs, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.
About $42 billion of senior secured loans backed by Broadcom entered syndication Monday.
Broadcom’s A-minus credit rating could allow lenders to place that debt with a wider group of investors through private placements or the investment-grade bond market.
Another $18 billion of junior debt without Broadcom guarantees is expected later. Blackstone has already committed about $9 billion to that tranche.
The proceeds will support Anthropic’s planned 2027 chip orders, with lease payments beginning after the chips are delivered.
Broadcom Expands Its Challenge To Nvidia
Broadcom is developing tensor processing units with Google as the companies seek to compete more directly with NVIDIA’s dominance in AI chips.
The latest transaction follows Broadcom’s earlier $35 billion financing with Apollo and Blackstone tied to its 20-gigawatt "AI XPV" platform, which aims to help companies including Anthropic and OpenAI secure computing capacity.
Broadcom’s latest quarterly report also said Anthropic could issue as much as $42 billion in convertible notes to Broadcom to fund lease payments.
BofA Flags Growing Financing Exposure
BofA Securities analyst Tom Curcuruto estimates Broadcom’s AI financing vehicle could support about $370 billion of senior debt by mid-2029 at a 20-gigawatt scale, including roughly $150 billion of new issuance in 2027.
The structure could help Broadcom turn strong AI chip demand into actual deployments by giving customers access to outside financing for costly infrastructure.
However, Broadcom also takes on risk by backstopping some customer lease obligations. Its initial transaction exposes the company to as much as $29 billion.
Curcuruto’s estimate shows how quickly that lease-related exposure could grow as Broadcom scales the platform.
AVGO Stock Price Activity: Broadcom shares are trading higher by 4.11% at $377.40 at the time of publication on Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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