Global financial leaders gathered in Hong Kong on Tuesday said technology companies will need to deliver more big-ticket fundraising deals to keep pace with the enormous capital demands of the artificial intelligence boom. Speaking at the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit, Blackstone president Jon Gray said most major technology companies were expected to raise more capital, pointing to equity raises by Meta, Google and Oracle and to planned public listings by SpaceX and Anthropic. "On top of it … the data centers, the energy needs are enormous," Gray said, according to Reuters. He added that he had "a tremendous amount of conviction and confidence" in AI infrastructure because demand for computing power was "pretty extraordinary".
A $730 billion spending wave
Combined spending on AI is set to exceed $730 billion this year, up from about $700 billion, Reuters reported. Tech stocks globally have faced pressure in recent weeks as growing concerns about AI spending have triggered a new wave of sell-offs. Morgan Stanley chief executive Ted Pick flagged emerging early signs of US markets edging close to a correction, with a majority of stocks in major indices off nearly 10 per cent, Reuters reported. The latest test of investor appetite came on Monday, when Google parent Alphabet sold €6 billion ($6.7 billion) in bonds. Fundraising by Asia-Pacific tech companies more than tripled to $125.8 billion in the first three quarters of 2026, from $36 billion a year earlier.
The $63 billion Anthropic financing
In one of the largest debt deals tied to the AI buildout, Blackstone agreed last week to provide $63 billion in financing, together with Bank of America, Citi and Morgan Stanley, to buy Broadcom’s AI chips and networking gear for Anthropic, Reuters reported. Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta have all signalled that spending on AI will not slow, even as investors scrutinise the price tag. Gray himself cautioned that "things will go wrong too, and we’ll get things wrong".
What to watch next
Investors will be watching whether the next wave of tech fundraising is met with the same appetite as Alphabet’s bond sale, and whether AI spending translates into the revenues needed to justify it.
FAQ
Why do AI companies need so much capital? Because the AI buildout is an infrastructure race — chips, data centres and the energy to run them all require large upfront spending before revenues follow.
What was the $63 billion deal? Financing led by Blackstone, with Bank of America, Citi and Morgan Stanley, to buy Broadcom AI chips and networking equipment for Anthropic, as reported by Reuters.
Did Alphabet really sell €6 billion in bonds? Yes — Alphabet sold €6 billion ($6.7 billion) in bonds on Monday, 2 November.
Sources
Reuters via Channel News Asia, "Big ticket tech deals needed to keep pace with AI growth boom, financial leaders say", 3 Nov 2026: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/big-ticket-tech-deals-needed-keep-pace-ai-growth-boom-financial-leaders-say-6515066
Reuters via The Economic Times, "Blackstone president says more tech sector fundraising ahead", 3 Nov 2026: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/blackstone-president-says-more-tech-sector-fundraising-ahead-to-keep-up-with-ai-industry-growth/articleshow/135479824.cms
