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AI data centers are financed through several layers: technology companies borrow against their broader balance sheets, developers raise loans or issue debt for specific projects, and long-term tenant leases can help support that project financing. Lease payments and purchase commitments may also represent substantial future obligations without being the same thing as funded debt. The figures therefore describe different borrowers and kinds of exposure—not one marketwide “AI data-center debt” total.

Why does AI data-center financing show up in so many places?

A data center is costly to build, takes time to complete, and may depend on a tenant committing to use the capacity once it is ready. Financing can change as a project moves from construction to operation: a developer might borrow to build a site, then refinance after it is operating and generating contracted revenue. At the same time, a large technology company may issue corporate bonds to fund infrastructure alongside its other needs.

The OECD describes corporate bonds as only one part of AI infrastructure financing. Banks commonly provide syndicated construction loans, while private credit can supplement that borrowing. Once a project is complete, financing may be refinanced through single-asset, single-borrower asset-backed securities (ABS) or private-placement bonds. Those routes involve different borrowers, collateral, repayment sources, and reporting conventions.

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The OECD reported $59 billion in AI-related private-credit transactions in 2025 in its 2026 Global Debt Report. Its AI-focused deal set uses Preqin’s “Artificial Intelligence” industry classification; it is not a total for data-center loans alone. The OECD said the increase reflected larger deal values rather than a greater number of deals.

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Which financing structures are involved?

Structure Typical borrower or obligor What may support repayment What to distinguish
Corporate bond Technology company or other corporate parent Companywide cash flows Corporate borrowing is not necessarily earmarked for one data center.
Bank construction loan Developer or project borrower Project assets, sponsor support, contracted revenue, or a combination It funds construction; terms and recourse depend on the specific loan.
Private-credit loan or project note Company, subsidiary, or project borrower May include collateral and contracted project cash flows Check the borrower, security, covenants, interest, and maturity rather than treating every deal as equivalent.
ABS or private-placement refinancing Often a borrower tied to a completed asset Asset-related cash flows and collateral This can replace or restructure earlier financing; it is not necessarily new construction debt.
Lease or purchase commitment Tenant or purchasing company under a contract Future contractual payments A future obligation is not automatically funded debt on the reporting date.
Equity issuance or joint venture Company issuing shares or partners investing in a project Investor capital rather than scheduled debt repayment Equity can share funding needs without creating the same repayment obligation as a loan.

These are broad categories, not interchangeable labels. To understand any particular deal, identify who legally owes the money, what stage of a project it funds, what cash flows or collateral support repayment, and whether the obligation is debt, equity, a lease, or a purchase contract.

What do recent company disclosures show?

Alphabet: corporate borrowing alongside future obligations

Alphabet’s Q2 2026 Form 10-Q reported $98.2 billion in long-term debt carrying value as of June 30, 2026. During the first half of 2026, it issued $20.0 billion of U.S.-dollar fixed-rate senior unsecured notes and $31.8 billion of foreign-currency fixed-rate senior unsecured notes. Alphabet said the proceeds were for general corporate purposes, so those issuances should not be described as project-specific data-center loans.

The same filing separately disclosed $85.2 billion in future payments for leases not yet commenced, primarily related to data centers. Alphabet expected those leases to commence between 2026 and 2031; the non-cancelable terms ranged from one to 26 years. It also reported $811.0 billion in purchase commitments and other contractual obligations, primarily for technical infrastructure and inventory commitments, as well as energy take-or-pay contracts. All three amounts are reported as of June 30, 2026, but they measure different things. Adding them together would not produce a meaningful debt total.

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Oracle: a planned mix of equity and bonds

On February 1, 2026, Oracle announced that it expected about half of its 2026 financing to come from equity-related issuance and about half from a single investment-grade senior unsecured bond transaction early in the year. The equity-related portion included an at-the-market program of up to $20 billion. Oracle said it did not expect additional bond issuance during calendar 2026 beyond that transaction. This was the company’s stated financing plan on that date, not confirmation that every planned amount was ultimately issued.

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Applied Digital: secured debt tied to a named project

Applied Digital’s March 2026 disclosure said net proceeds from its senior secured notes were intended to finance construction of 200 MW of critical IT load at Polaris Forge 2, its AI Factory campus in Harwood, North Dakota, which is leased to Oracle, as well as related project accounts and expenses. The notes carry 6.750% annual interest, payable semi-annually, and mature March 15, 2031, subject to the indenture’s terms. The indenture also restricts additional indebtedness, liens, certain asset sales, and other actions.

Applied Digital’s later fiscal 2026 filing described additional contracted projects: 300 MW at Delta Forge 1 and 300 MW at Polaris Forge 3, with initial operations anticipated during calendar 2027. Those are company-stated expectations, not guarantees of completion on that schedule.

Cipher Digital: a long lease as part of the financing model

Cipher Digital’s 2025 Form 10-K describes a 15-year lease agreed in October 2025 with Amazon Web Services for approximately 300 gross MW of turnkey capacity at its Black Pearl facility. Phased delivery was expected to begin in 2026. Cipher says long-duration leases can support project-level debt and joint-venture structures, and that hyperscale or investment-grade tenants can improve a project’s credit profile and access to structured financing. That is the company’s account of how its model can work, not independent assurance that any project will meet its targets or secure financing.

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Nebius: debt at an AI-cloud company

On July 17, 2026, Nebius announced that it had entered its first senior secured debt facility, for approximately $775 million. It described the transaction as significantly oversubscribed and said its strategy spans owned data centers and asset-light partnerships. The announcement illustrates borrowing by an AI-cloud company, but does not establish that the facility is solely a data-center loan.

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How can you tell what a debt figure actually measures?

Before comparing headlines or filings, classify the number. A balance-sheet debt figure is not the same as a new issuance, a future lease payment, or a company’s estimate of contractual purchasing obligations. A corporate bond may fund general purposes; a project note may be secured by a particular asset; a lease may involve future payments for capacity that has not yet commenced.

  • Borrower: Is the obligor the parent company, an operating subsidiary, a project company, or another special-purpose borrower?
  • Instrument: Is it a corporate bond, construction loan, private-credit facility, secured project note, ABS, lease, equity issuance, or purchase commitment?
  • Use and project stage: Does the financing support land, construction, equipment, operations, or refinancing of an already completed site?
  • Repayment support: Does repayment depend on companywide cash flows, a tenant lease, contracted capacity, asset value, or multiple sources?
  • Terms and risk allocation: What are the interest rate, maturity, amortization, collateral, covenants, and recourse terms? Who bears the risk if construction or tenant delivery is delayed?
  • Reporting basis: What date does the figure cover, and does the filing describe a current balance, a new issuance, or a future contractual obligation?

What risks should readers assess?

Borrowing by itself does not show that a company or the wider market is in distress. The disclosures above establish that companies are raising capital and taking on long-term financing and contractual obligations; they do not establish marketwide distress. The useful question is whether a particular project’s expected cash flows and financing terms can support its costs and obligations.

For an individual project, relevant checks include whether construction is completed on schedule, whether power is available when needed, whether a tenant is creditworthy and contractually committed, and whether revenue is concentrated in one customer. Interest costs, covenant restrictions, and the ability to refinance at maturity also matter. These are factors to evaluate in the terms and filings for each borrower—not proof of a problem simply because debt is rising.

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