AI Giants Raise $135 Billion

Meta Platforms, SpaceX, and Anthropic initiated a combined capital raise of approximately $135 billion on Monday. The trio of companies moved to secure funding for their artificial intelligence infrastructure while the broader market for such investments tightens. Wall Street is now filtering which AI projects receive capital, leaving smaller players with less access to debt and equity markets.

Meta announced a three-part plan to raise up to $95 billion. The first step involves selling $22.5 billion in Class A common shares at $642.62 per share. The second step includes $12.5 billion in preferred shares. The final step, scheduled for no sooner than next year, involves a $60 billion at-the-market offering for non-voting Class C shares. The creation of these Class C shares was disclosed last week as a future funding vehicle.

SpaceX closed a $40 billion debt financing deal specifically for graphics processing units. Elon Musk confirmed the transaction in a post on X. He stated that debt markets have nearly shut off access to money for companies lacking substantial revenue independent of AI data centers. Musk predicted that the 200 or more neoclouds would face severe consolidation, describing the outcome as guppy-level death.

Anthropic filed its initial public offering prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The frontier AI lab did not disclose the share price or the initial amount of capital it seeks. The filing suggests a valuation that could reach $2 trillion. Analysts estimate the raise could amount to tens of billions of dollars, or possibly $100 billion, based on the financial commitments detailed in the document.

The rush for capital is creating pressure in the market. CoreWeave, a major neocloud provider, has lost 60% of its value since its year-to-date high of nearly $139 on May 6. The stock hit a 52-week low of just above $51 on Monday before recovering with the broader market. This decline reflects the market's shifting sentiment toward companies that rely heavily on external funding without diversified revenue streams.

Jim Cramer, writing in his Sunday column, argued that the AI trade remains viable for companies with strong non-AI core businesses. He noted that Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet possess profitable advertising, software, and e-commerce segments that provide structural advantages over pure-play AI labs. Cramer stated he is not giving up on the AI trade, particularly for these diversified giants.

UBS analysts suggest Amazon's capital expenditures for 2027 could exceed $300 billion. The firm raised its price target on Amazon and reiterated its buy rating. Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet are scheduled to report quarterly results this week. Investors expect funding strategies to dominate the post-earnings conference calls. Cramer indicated that Microsoft and Amazon may face the most pressure to raise funds following Meta's announcement and Alphabet's $85 billion stock sale over the summer.