Banks, investors curb lending to AI firms after Nasdaq-100 drop
After a $2.5 trillion drop in the Nasdaq-100, banks and investors are suddenly way more cautious about lending to AI companies, even when names such as Anthropic and Google are involved.
Some banks and credit investors are taking a wait-and-see approach amid anxiety about more oversight of data centers after the US midterm elections, so there's a lot of second-guessing right now.
Neocloud and data center borrowers squeezed
High-risk borrowers like neocloud companies and data center operators are having a tougher time getting funding.
Some have had to postpone bond deals because lenders are spooked, though companies like Nebius still managed to land big loans (hello, $3.5 billion from Citigroup).
As Jay Bala, co-founder and CEO of $300-million alternative asset manager AIP, put it, "Most banks and credit investors will take a wait and see approach."