A group of 10 banks is providing a $22 billion loan to Crux AI, a cloud-computing venture launched by Blackstone and Alphabet. Reuters reported that a source familiar with the matter confirmed the facility and part of the lender group. Goldman Sachs, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Barclays, BNP Paribas and Scotiabank were among the lenders. The transaction was first reported by Bloomberg.
Crux plans to use the financing to acquire Google tensor processing units, according to Bloomberg’s reporting. Bloomberg said the debt would be backed by the value of those chips and Crux AI’s customer contracts. Reuters said Crux had previously secured $5 billion of equity from Blackstone.
BANK GROUP SPANS SEVERAL MARKETS
The named lenders include institutions from the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, France and Canada. Bloomberg described it as the latest mega-debt deal in the race to finance AI infrastructure.
Crux AI, Blackstone and Goldman Sachs declined to comment to Bloomberg, while Alphabet and the other named lenders did not respond. Bloomberg said more lenders were expected to join through syndication.
EXECUTION AND REFINANCING REMAIN TO WATCH
The financing links bank credit to specialised computing assets and contracted demand.
Crux AI plans to deploy 500 megawatts of capacity by 2027, according to Reuters. Bloomberg also reported that the debt may later be refinanced in the investment-grade bond market, and that banks are providing a separate $1 billion revolving credit facility.