CALIFORNIA: Debt investors are worried that the biggest tech companies will keep borrowing until it hurts in the battle to develop the most powerful artificial intelligence (AI). Contracts tied to about US$895mil of Alphabet debt are outstanding, after netting out opposite trades, while around US$687mil is tied to Meta debt. Some of the richest tech companies in the world are rapidly turning into some of the most indebted. Some providers even offer baskets of hyperscalers’ CDS, mirroring baskets of cash bonds that are rapidly being developed. Morgan Stanley expects borrowing by the massive tech companies known as hyperscalers to reach US$400bil this year, up from US$165bil in 2025.

Source: The Star February 16, 2026 06:35 UTC