AI Financing Gets Creative

Steven Messina, of Skadden Arps, John Greenwood, of Goldman Sachs, Matt A’Hearn of Blue Owl

Dealmakers are busy scouting public and private markets for funding for the AI buildout. And with demands for capital quickly outpacing traditional forms of data center financing, they’re getting increasingly creative.

John Greenwood, Goldman Sach’s global head of infrastructure and real asset finance, said he’s “looking for capital in every nook and cranny” to support an expected $7.5 trillion in spending on chips, data centers and power in the next five years. The hunt won’t end there, since much of that spending is on GPUs and other chips that need replacing every few years.

Greenwood was speaking last week at a video discussion convened by The Information, also including Matt A’Hearn, managing director at investment firm Blue Owl, and Steven Messina, global head of Skadden Arps’s finance group. They discussed where the money for AI infrastructure is coming from, where the market is showing signs of strain and the new kinds of structures they’re tapping to keep the buildout going.