Amazon is exploring a new financial structure to offload approximately $8 billion worth of Nvidia AI chips into a special-purpose vehicle (SPV) backed by external capital. By moving these assets off its balance sheet, the company aims to sustain the expansion of its compute capacity while mitigating direct hardware costs.
The proposed SPV would raise funds through debt issuance, with Amazon potentially retaining an equity stake of up to 10%. The chips in question, including Nvidia Grace Blackwell models, are currently deployed across more than a dozen data centers in five U.S. states, such as Nevada and Virginia.
This move aligns with a broader industry trend where hyperscalers increasingly rely on complex financial engineering, such as leasing and debt, to fund AI infrastructure. Amazon expects capital expenditures to reach roughly $220 billion this year, driven largely by investments in AWS and AI hardware.
The strategy mirrors financing models used for real estate and aircraft, treating GPUs as income-producing assets. As infrastructure costs rise, analysts project that borrowing by major technology firms for AI data centers could climb to as much as $1 trillion by 2030.
