SEATTLE, October 2: Amazon is exploring a plan to move around $8 billion worth of advanced Nvidia AI chips into a special-purpose investment vehicle backed by outside investors, as the technology giant looks for new ways to finance its rapidly growing artificial-intelligence infrastructure.
Under the proposed structure, Amazon would continue using the chips by leasing them back from the investment vehicle rather than holding all of the expensive hardware directly on its balance sheet.
Thousands of Nvidia Chips Could Be Transferred
The proposed transaction involves thousands of Nvidia Grace Blackwell chips being installed in Amazon data centres across the United States.
The chips were either purchased or leased by Amazon and are currently spread across more than a dozen data centres in five states, including Nevada and Virginia.
Special-Purpose Vehicle Planned
Amazon is considering transferring the AI hardware into a special-purpose vehicle, or SPV, which would raise money from external investors.
The investment vehicle could issue debt to finance ownership of the chips, while Amazon would lease the computing equipment back for continued use in its cloud infrastructure.
Amazon May Offer Up to 10% Equity Stake
Amazon could offer investors an equity stake of up to 10% in the proposed vehicle.
The structure would allow outside investors to participate in financing costly AI infrastructure while reducing the amount of expensive computing hardware directly carried on Amazon’s balance sheet.
Move Could Create More Asset-Light Model
The arrangement is designed to help Amazon adopt a more asset-light approach as spending on AI infrastructure rises sharply.
Advanced GPUs have become one of the biggest expenses for cloud providers as demand for artificial-intelligence computing continues to accelerate.
AWS Driving Massive AI Investment
Amazon Web Services is expanding data-centre capacity to meet growing demand for generative AI, model training and other intensive computing workloads.
Nvidia’s latest Blackwell chips are among the most sought-after processors for these applications, but their high cost has pushed technology companies to explore alternative financing models.
AI Infrastructure Financing Expands
Amazon’s proposal reflects a wider trend across the technology industry, where companies are increasingly looking for ways to fund massive AI investments without relying entirely on traditional corporate borrowing.
Chip-backed financing, leasing structures and investor-supported data-centre vehicles are emerging as companies spend billions of dollars expanding AI capacity.
Proposal Has Not Been Finalised
Amazon has reportedly held discussions with investors to gauge interest, but the transaction has not yet been formally completed.
The final structure, financing terms and level of investor participation could still change as negotiations continue.
AI Boom Reshapes Big Tech Spending
The proposed $8 billion transaction highlights the financial scale of the global artificial-intelligence infrastructure race.
As Amazon, Microsoft, Google and other technology companies expand their AI platforms, funding the chips and data centres required to support those services is becoming an increasingly important financial challenge.
Source – Reuters / Financial Times / Economic Times Reuters
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