AI Funding Emerges as a Key Topic on Wall Street

Demand for AI data center funding is surging, leading to a contraction in bond issuance for corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&A) within Wall Street's financial markets. Amidst this, AI-related funding has emerged as the 'only game in town.' Last week, discussions surrounding AI funding dominated the annual Leveraged Finance & Credit Conference hosted by Goldman Sachs, overshadowing traditional M&A discussions and becoming the main topic of conversation. Approximately 400 financial experts and representatives from 85 companies gathered to discuss corporate lending and bond issuance trends, with questions on how to secure the vast sums needed for the AI ecosystem garnering more attention than conventional M&A topics.

As AI technology advances and spreads, related companies are already attracting significant capital. In the past two months alone, AI-related firms have raised over $20 billion (approximately 29 trillion won) in the U.S. high-yield bond market. Blackstone and Apollo Global Management are reportedly seeking additional investors for a $36 billion (approximately 52.4 trillion won) deal to support Anthropic's AI infrastructure development. Anthropic has also confidentially filed paperwork for an initial public offering (IPO).

Miriam Wheeler, global head of Leveraged Finance at Goldman Sachs, stated that the immense capital expenditure demand across data centers, power, and semiconductors is impacting financial markets. She identified AI as the top priority, explaining how this capital demand affects the financial markets broadly. Chris Bonner, Americas head of Leveraged Finance at Goldman Sachs, underscored the significant scale of funding required for the AI ecosystem. He warned that as AI supply intensifies, companies lagging in execution will pay a price in capital raising costs. If the AI supply glut worsens, bond prices for companies unable to meet data center construction schedules could fall.