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For years, the AI story has been about scarcity. Not enough chips. Not enough power. Not enough data centers. Now two of the industry's top executives are pointing at a different kind of shortage: money.
Intel Corporation (INTC) and Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) executives warned Monday that financing could constrain artificial intelligence expansion, even as demand for computing infrastructure remains strong.
Speaking at the DBS Asia Future Forward Conference in Singapore, Broadcom CEO Hock Tan said access to capital could become a bigger obstacle than shortages of chips or electricity, CNBC reported.
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan also flagged rising financing costs and uncertainty over investment returns. He urged companies to improve efficiency and develop business models that deliver tangible returns.
Hock Tan expects computing demand to exceed supply through 2029, potentially extending into 2030. Intel's CEO sees strong AI infrastructure demand over the next two to three years.
The warnings follow a sharp slowdown in AI-related borrowing.
Global AI-related debt issuance fell to $23 billion in September, less than half of August's total, the Financial Times reported, citing Morgan Stanley data covering public bonds and private placements. Monthly financing has declined since June's $113 billion peak.
Morgan Stanley primarily attributed the slowdown to substantial borrowing earlier this year.
In June, Morgan Stanley forecast nearly $570 billion in AI-related debt issuance for 2026, Reuters reported. JPMorgan separately projected $4.1 trillion in cumulative AI debt financing through 2030.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SPCX) reportedly plans to raise $40 billion to buy NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) chips. Apollo Global Management, Inc. (APO) is expected to lead the financing.
Banks are also arranging a $60 billion financing package tied to Broadcom's chip deals with Anthropic.
Bank of America Securities analyst Tom Curcuruto estimates Broadcom's AI financing vehicle could support about $370 billion of senior debt by mid-2029 at a 20-gigawatt scale, including roughly $150 billion of new issuance in 2027.
The structure could help Broadcom turn strong AI chip demand into actual deployments by giving customers access to outside financing for costly infrastructure.
However, Broadcom also takes on risk by backstopping some customer lease obligations. Its initial transaction exposes the company to as much as $29 billion.
Curcuruto's estimate shows how quickly that lease-related exposure could grow as Broadcom scales the platform.
Price Action: Nvidia shares were down 0.06% at $229.14, Intel shares were down 1.36% at $103.28 and Broadcom shares were down 0.55% at $359.55 during premarket trading on Monday, according to market data.
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