Key takeaways
- Amazon seeks investors for about $8 billion in Nvidia AI chips.
- Chips could move into an investor-backed vehicle and be leased back.
- The proposed deal aims to strengthen Amazon’s balance sheet amid heavy AI spending.
Amazon is seeking to transfer about $8 billion of Nvidia Grace Blackwell chips to investors through a new financing vehicle, then lease them back, to strengthen its balance sheet as AI infrastructure spending rises.
Amazon builds new financing structure
Amazon has held talks with investors in recent weeks about moving thousands of advanced Nvidia chips into a special-purpose vehicle, or SPV, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The proposed structure would put ownership of the chips with the vehicle while Amazon continues using them in its U.S. data centers.
Under the proposal, the SPV would raise money from outside investors through debt issuance, with Amazon leasing the chips back for its operations. Amazon also plans to offer an equity stake of up to 10% in the vehicle, according to the Financial Times.
The Amazon Nvidia chips were bought or leased by Amazon and are installed in more than a dozen U.S. data centers across five states, including Nevada and Virginia, the report said. The discussions are ongoing, and the details of the proposed transaction could change.
The Financial Times described the arrangement as part of Amazon’s effort to take a more “asset-light” approach to its balance sheet. The structure would shift ownership of the costly Amazon Nvidia chips to investors while allowing Amazon to retain access to the hardware.
AI spending drives capital needs
The proposed transaction comes as Amazon expands spending on artificial intelligence and data center capacity. The Financial Times reported that Amazon is expected to spend about $220 billion in capital expenditures this year, with much of that spending tied to its AWS cloud business and AI infrastructure.
The financing plan also reflects a broader push by major technology companies to use alternative structures to fund data centers and advanced computing equipment. Reuters reported Thursday that investors and lenders are becoming more cautious about financing models that depend heavily on the future value of AI chips.
Nvidia has argued that its compute infrastructure is “productive, durable, and fungible,” according to Reuters reporting on the chipmaker’s wider financing efforts. Financial institutions have questioned how long advanced GPUs will retain their value as newer generations of chips emerge.
Amazon and Nvidia have not commented
Amazon and Nvidia did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment outside regular business hours. The lack of a company statement means the reported transaction remains under discussion rather than a completed deal.
The proposed SPV would allow Amazon to continue using Amazon Nvidia chips without directly owning all of the equipment. Outside investors would finance the vehicle, while Amazon would use the chips through a lease arrangement.
The move comes as the cost of building AI data centers rises and technology companies seek ways to balance infrastructure expansion with financing demands. For Amazon, the proposed transaction would provide another funding route as it expands AWS capacity and continues investing heavily in AI.
