Alphabet, Amazon Tap Yen, Swiss Francs to Fund AI
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- Alphabet disclosed plans for its first-ever yen-denominated bond sale, expected to total several hundred billion yen, with Mizuho, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley mandated on the deal; terms are set to be decided this month
- Amazon prepared a debut Swiss franc debt offering in six parts with maturities ranging from three to 25 years, mandated to BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Chase, with proceeds earmarked for corporate purposes including future capex
- Big Tech is expected to spend more than $700 billion on AI infrastructure in 2026, a sharp jump from $410 billion in 2025, driving the companies to lean on debt after burning through their large cash flows
- Alphabet last week raised almost $17 billion via two separate bond sales — a €9 billion European issue and a C$8.5 billion Canadian offering — underscoring how quickly the borrowing pipeline is opening globally
- B. Riley Wealth chief market strategist Art Hogan said the cross-currency push is 'simply a function' of the scale of debt these hyperscalers need to raise and the strong credit backing them to borrow globally, not just domestically
- Neither Alphabet nor Amazon disclosed the size of the Monday offerings, and Alphabet did not respond to Reuters' request for comment on the yen deal's size
Why it matters: Even with deep U.S. capital markets, Big Tech's projected $700 billion+ AI infrastructure bill is pushing Alphabet and Amazon into yen and Swiss franc debt for the first time. That gives Japanese and Swiss investors direct exposure to U.S. AI capex at a scale few other borrowers can offer, while locking the hyperscalers into multi-currency debt service just as AI capex keeps accelerating.
